Plaisance residents joined hands and successfully blocked the newly-appointed community Overseer from entering the Plaisance/Industry Neighbourhood Dem-ocratic Council (NDC) building yesterday, while expressing concern over an attempt at what they say is a land grab by the government.
Residents of the of the East Coast Demerara (ECD) community were furious that the Minister of Local Government had blatantly overlooked their reservations since July that the acting overseer Deborah McDowell was being replaced by a less qualified person.
In June, the Interim Management Committee (IMC) for the Plaisance/Industry NDC advertised vacancies for the positions of Overseer and Assistant Overseer. Though McDowell was the substantive officer in this regard, Minister Norman Whittaker had told Stabroek News in July that she was acting in the capacity following a vacancy last year.
McDowell had applied for both positions and was appointed assistant overseer. However, she was also charged with training her replacement, which has rubbed many residents the wrong way. Residents told Stabroek News yesterday that the new overseer was not even from the area and was not knowledgeable about the community issues.
“Lands being taken away systemically,” Conway Douglas told Stabroek News. He said that the Local Government Ministry was “manipulating what was democratically-elected” to have a more favourable outcome. He was referring to the IMC that was put in place.
When Stabroek News attempted to speak to the new overseer, he was told by another representative from the Local Government Ministry to not speak to the press. Calls to the Local Government Ministry and the Central Housing and Planning Authority went unanswered. Stabroek News was told that residents planned on picketing in shifts today again and are calling on the Local Government Ministry to send representatives to address the concerns.
Shawn Austin, an A Partnership for National Unity representative and Plaisance resident, told Stabroek News that the community felt as though the new overseer was being brought in while lands at the back of the village were being confiscated and prepped for a still-to-be-announced housing development.
He said that residents have been raising concerns and there has been no response from either the Housing or Local Government ministries. He said that he was “absolutely positive” that the new overseer was being brought in to deal with outstanding property taxes and lots that are involved in family disputes.
Austin noted that the overseer was not being brought to find resolution to the issues however and that instead it was to allow for buying up of property at cheap prices.
He told Stabroek News that there has been a consistent move by the government to takeover lands from the depressed community. Austin said the land for Pradoville II and the community’s old burial ground had already been taken over and utilised without any benefit to the community.
Residents told Stabroek News that the government was making moves to allocate land at the back of the village to non-residents. Given the historical context of the village, residents fear that lands that have been passed down generations will be utilised by a new housing scheme.
One resident told Stabroek News that there was sufficient land that could be developed in Plaisance. “We live here and they can’t just send us to Parfaite Harmonie,” said a resident.
He said that the government does not adequately advertise the ‘One-Stop Shop’ initiatives to depressed communities such as Plaisance because there is no real interest to have certain groups represented at the one-stop shops.
One resident told Stabroek News that for the past two weeks heavy duty machinery had been moving in only at night to clear the backdam area. This publication was told that the issues with the current overseer were being manipulated to install a person that would be doing the ministry’s work without regard to complaints or concern by the residents.
