Chairman of the Timehri North Community Development Council, Daniel Fraser, says that while he lauds the government for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion project, he believes that the residents he represents are being removed due to another agenda.
“The Timehri airport expansion has nothing to do with Timehri North… the government is making it out to be that we are hampering development in this country but that is not so. I am glad that they are expanding but the real issue here is real estate… the value of the land we live on will escalate,” Fraser told Stabroek News on Thursday.
He was at the time responding to statements made by the National Director of Community Development Councils, Philomena Sahoye-Shury, in a recent interview with Stabroek News. Sahoye-Shury had said that whether or not the expansion of the runway reaches the settlement area, the government is making “provision for eventuality.”
“Let’s say for argument’s sake that even if the airport takes up 10,000 feet or so… you have in case something went wrong with the plane, all of them dead … could we deal realistically with a tragedy or something going wrong like that,” the CDC National Director had asked.
Speaking with Stabroek News on Thursday, Fraser posited that Sahoye-Shury is not an authority for public health and safety practices and as such, it is not her place to come to such a conclusion. “In Mahdia, a (housing) scheme is right behind the airport where planes descend and rise,” he said adding that this is an example and “what goes for one should go for all.”
Even as Fraser protests against the removal of residents from Timehri North, the council is finalising a resettlement plan.
The CDC chairman said that what goes for Timehri North should be the same for Timehri South, which he said is located even closer to the airport and as a result, poses more danger to residents there.
Despite this, he said, Timehri South was regularized. “She (Sahoye-Shury) say that the Timehri South people went back to her and that’s why she regularize the area although they are more in a dangerous place than Timehri North. They were given titles to land but they still got about 20 titles to give out there but since we start our cry, they ease up sharing titles,” he stated.
According to Fraser, Sahoye-Shury politicized the situation when she regularized Timehri South and not Timehri North. “Is it because we don’t have titles that our lives are endangered?
Because Timehri South is closer but because they have titles, their lives are not endangered?” he asked.
Fraser also refuted statements made by Sahoye-Shury that during her visit to the area about eight years ago, no concrete structures were there. “Concrete houses were literally numbered by people for (the Ministry of) Housing and for her to say that eight years ago, they had no concrete houses in here, she has distanced herself from the truth,” he declared.
Fraser added that while the National Director of CDCs did encourage residents to acquire house lots as she had told Stabroek News, she had advised them to apply for the house lots which they were already occupying and they did. “If you go into Ministry of Housing, is a whole set of applications you would find,” he added.
Fraser further stated that during discourses with the Regional Democratic Council, they were asked to view Timehri North as a regularized area. “An occupational survey was done in here and when you are going to regularize an area, you must do an occupational survey and that’s how houses in here were numbered… some still are,” he said.
Fraser also told Stabroek News that during a workshop on Thursday, a resettlement plan was completed and the council is currently in the process of having it finalized.
In May 2012 residents in the community were given a letter by the CJIA Management. It said: “Please be reminded that the land which you are occupying is the sole property of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation (CJIAC) and as such you are illegal occupants.
You are hereby required with immediate effect to vacate the lands you are currently occupying or utilising belonging to the CJIAC and remove any building or erections thereon.
Failure to remove within 30 days of receipt of this notice will leave the Corporation no choice but to take steps to remove you from the corporation’s land,” said the letter signed by Chief Executive Officer of the airport, Ramesh Ghir.
The governments of Guyana and China last week signed an agreement to facilitate the financing of the airport’s expansion. The amount of financing the Chinese government will provide is US$130 million and the project is to fully commence early next year.
