By Readawne Henery
Following a confrontation which saw police fire pellets and teargas, hundreds of persons who have been squatting at Success, Vryheid’s Lust and Chateau Margot, on the East Coast of Demerara, yesterday met with officials from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) in order to legally access house lots.
There were lines outside of the school compound as many waited their turn to make an application for a house lot or to have their names recorded on the priority list if they already had an application in the system.
Police on Wednesday fired pellets and tear gas in a bid to remove squatters in the vicinity of Success, who have overrun lands belonging to the sugar corporation (GuySuCo).
According to a police statement, they resorted to this action after NICIL/ GuySuCo officials visited the Success Squatting Area to speak with squatters there who were said to be “aggressive” and “hostile”.
“During this engagement persons became aggressive and hostile towards the officials and the police ranks and began throwing a bombardment of missiles at them,” the statement said.
Region Four Chairman Daniel Seeram yesterday told Stabroek News that he had engaged the Divisional Commander and residents on the shooting on Wednesday and there was a commitment by both sides to keep the peace and not escalate the situation. He said he attempted to reach out to the Minister of Housing Collin Croal but it was unsuccessful. However, he added that Chief Executive Officer of the CH&PA Sherwyn Greaves informed him that his objective was to have the persons who had previously applied for house lots be put on a priority list to get land and for the first time applicants to be have their applications processed swiftly.
While he mentioned that there were areas in Region Four where house lots would be made available, no timeline was given for when the process would begin.
Some residents requested the rebuilding of their bridge, which was destroyed on Wednesday, and they said it needed to be looked at as soon as possible.
Croal, in a statement issued yesterday, explained that he had personally visited the area twice to meet with the residents and engaged their leaders in discussions. While reiterating the government’s zero-tolerance stance on squatting, he said Chairman of the Better Hope/Success/LBI Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Zaman Shaw had reported that persons were illegally occupying lands in the area. Upon reviewing official documents, it was discovered that the lands being occupied fell under the purview of NICIL and not the Ministry of Housing and Water. A meeting with the newly appointed interim Chief Executive Officer of NICIL, Radha Krishna Sharma, and Croal followed.
Following the discussions on September 8, 2020, the statement said, the Minister once more visited the area along with a team from the Ministry and Shaw, as well as officials from NICIL to meet with residents, who were cautioned that their occupation of the land on which they were building structures was illegal.
It added that the illegal occupants were encouraged to form themselves into a team to engage the Ministry to find a way forward and at a subsequent meeting residents were told to apply for land through the established process. They were also told that the Ministry would be willing to assist them in every possible respect for a legitimate house lot at an alternative location. “The Ministry is committed to facilitating this process as it is the first step in the direction of legally owning a plot of land from the agency,” it said. “Through-out the engagement process, the Ministry, along with NICIL representatives, have shown the utmost tolerance in engaging squatters/illegal occupants. The Ministry of Housing and Water remains committed to the Government’s Manifesto promise of the provision of ten thousand house lots annually and would like to assure persons who have applied for housing that the Ministry is doing everything in its power to satisfy the housing needs of all Guyanese,” it added.
Frustration
However, following the engagement with the CH&PA representatives,
residents at the Success Squatting Area voiced the struggles that forced them to where they were.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said he pleaded with the police officers not to shoot at the uproar on Wednesday. Children were a part of the crowd that was tear gassed.
Amanda Duncan, a mother of four, said it has been 11 years since she applied for a house lot, and every time she goes into the ministry she is told “Tomorrow. We are not ready for you now.”
The mother, who held up a letter from CH&PA, related that it is hard to pay rent.
Lorain Lindo, another resident who also shared her frustration with the media, said they were occupying the land because they do not have a choice and in fact needed it.
Lindo added that they have been there for over five or six months and no official came to speak with them.
She said that they were building and trying to make their children comfortable, as she indicated that majority of the persons occupying the land were single parents doing what they can so their children will not steal or commit crimes.
Mother of four, Lucy Moore, who was in tears while speaking, said she needed the land for her children.
The unemployed woman noted that she could not afford to pay rent and questioned the need to reopen a sugar estate when people were in need of the land. “The land is for the people. Give it to the people,” she stated.
Moore also spoke of the conditions that the residents were living in and added that it was not how they wanted to live but they had nowhere else to go.
Darrell Johnson, also a resident of Success Squatting Area, told Stabroek News that he had applied for land six years ago.
Johnson said two years back he visited the ministry and was told that there is no place to allocate anyone. About two months ago, he said, he took a piece of land, fenced it and put up a structure.
He explained that National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) came and broke the bridge down, but villagers were able to rebuild it.
However, on Wednesday they came again and broke down multiple things in a plot to get them off of the land.
“How can we, as Guyanese, have to fight for a plot of land?” he questioned while also asking where the people will relocate the people who are there already.
Johnson further stated that when he met with the housing officials, it was not what he expected as he disclosed that all they did was to take his name, number and address.
He noted that no documents where shown, besides his identification Card, application and interview letter.
The man, who voiced his frustration, also explained that he has been out of a job for six months, and shared that it was hard to pay rent while he was out of a job.
He added that “as poor people, we need to get land,” especially since foreign investors where benefitting.
He added, “Nobody ain’t buying sugar! People ain’t want sugar! People want house fuh live!” Like others, he claimed that persons started to occupy the land last year December.
Affected by pandemic
Among those present at the Chateau Margot school yesterday to meet CH&PA representatives was mother of two Marcia Dorrick, who shared that she was renting a house for several years but was severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led her to start squatting at Success.
As a result, Dorrick said she saw the allocation of house lots as an opportunity to move a step closer to having her own home, which made her feel better and showed her a vision for the betterment of her children.
Hardatt Kumar said he started squatting two months ago and that he was hoping for the best when meeting with the housing officials. Kumar said he had no problem with removing from the area, but needed to be certain that he would be relocated.
Elaine Phillips told this newspaper she was there because she wanted her niece and nephew-in-law to acquire a plot of land.
Phillips vented her frustration as she claimed that while in opposition People’s Progressive Party officials had told the squatters to build homes wherever they saw lands. The woman said she was disappointed that now that the party is in government it has adopted a new position.
Phillips explained that her family had started clearing a plot of land, while also explaining that it was extremely hard to pay rent and save, especially during a pandemic.
A woman, who gave her name as M King, noted that it has been three months since she has been occupying a plot of land at Success.
King said she was at the school to understand how she could get land.
The woman, who explained that she and her children had applied to the Housing Ministry years ago, was disappointed that all they did was take her name and contact number and promise to return a call. She added that she had her documents for years and did not understand why the officials did not look through them. She concluded that the outreach was a waste of time, because many persons had already started building their structures in the area. She added that the better idea was too allow them to stay where they already started work.
