APNU+AFC coalition Member of Parliament Annette Ferguson has called for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration to act with compassion in its treatment of the squatters at Success, whom she says should be regularised.
During a press conference held yesterday to address the ongoing situation at Success, where squatters have been urged to remove due to the sugar corporation’s plans for the land, Ferguson demanded a sensible and a humane solution.
She said many of the squatters were single mothers and persons who have lost their means of earning a living due to the impact of the COVID-19, bringing them to the point of where they are.
Ferguson added that the citizens are in need of a place to call their own, to which they are entitled, but she accused the administration of bullying, intimidating and terrorising them through the use of the Guyana Police Force. She condemned the approach taken by the government, while citing the destruction of structures and the firing of pellets and teargas at persons, including women and children.
Like some of the squatters, she claimed many started occupying the land at Success in the past few months due to encouragement from the PPP leadership.
Ferguson, who had served in the Housing Ministry, asserted that during its 23 years of administration prior to 2015, the PPP/C was unable to resolve the housing needs of the people of Guyana and left a backlog of housing applications unattended. She further charged that it previously prepared housing schemes without infrastructure, which the coalition government in 2015 had to remedy.
She noted that when the previous government took office, there was a backlog of 30,000 unattended applications, and noted that the amount was reduced by 7,000 when the opposition left office.
Ferguson also shared that the APNU+AFC had plans to abolish squatting.
Meanwhile Region Four Chairman Daniel Seeram also said that he too believed the area should be regularized, while adding that they would continue to work with the people of Success to find resolution for their plight.
