As government advances its plan to provide and regulate housing across the country, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) says that a number of considerations were given as they sought to relocate squatters from Cummings Lodge.
The housing authority announced that they are currently working with eleven squatters, who had taken up residency in the new residential housing community.
Between, August 20, 2020 and April 3, 2021, the authority informed that eleven actions were taken to engage with the squatters.
According to an advertisement published in yesterday’s Stabroek News, the CH&PA stated that among the actions taken was the earmarking of a suitable area within the vicinity for the relocation of the group of persons they met and consulted with. On April 3, the Authority added, the final contravention notices were served to eleven households requesting that they immediately vacate the occupied lands. They were informed that their structures are impeding major development works that have been planned for the area
The squatters of Cummings Lodge 1797 and 1768, which is being developed to accommodate 190 low-income earners have been given until Saturday to evacuate the area.
The Department of Public Information yesterday reported Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal as saying that they had found “persons squatting in this area since August last year and a number of unoccupied structures have been demolished since then.”
Croal along with a team visited the area yesterday to observe works being carried out on site.
He added that prior to the first demolition exercise on October 13, they found eleven structures occupied and those are the ones remaining. However, as works advanced, the occupants, he said, were served notices to remove and were offered the assistance of the Community Development Department.
That demolition exercise targeted unoccupied and incomplete structures erected in the earmarked area.
A statement posted on the CH&PA Facebook page stated that the project is being undertaken by 13 contractors and aspects of land preparation have been completed thus far.
The focus now is on building the foundations of the structures, which has already begun. Homes built under the programme will be two-bedroom elevated houses, measuring approximately 20 x 30 square feet. These are projects which fall under the $13.9 billion in contracts signed on March 16, 2021 by the Ministry and CH&PA. Works on the low-income houses began late March, 2021 and are expected to be completed within the next four months.
When Stabroek News visited the area yesterday it was observed that a number of construction workers were on site preparing the foundation for homes. They were also seen working in different areas of the development.
A road network, power lines, and water mains were already in the area but a worker stated that the utilities are yet to be connected to the national grid.
During this newspaper’s visit, the makeshift houses had no occupants.
According to the notice published in the newspapers, the CH&PA on August 20, 2020, served thirteen contravention notices on all structures observed by the Authority during their assessment.
On August 24, the CH&PA explained that six households were called in and asked to report to the Community Development Department Relocation/Resettlement Unit the following day.
On that day, the housing authority stated that seven new structures were discovered on lands in the area taking the number of illegal structures to 20. Three of the new structures were occupied at the time.
By August 27, during an inventory and marking exercise, officers observed two additional structures were erected and occupied. At this point, the CH&PA said a total of 11 structures were occupied.
However, six of the 11 from the occupied households visited the agency on October 30 to voice their concerns in relation to the contravention notices and having them addressed. They were offered alternative shelter but the entire group refused the offer.
The CH&PA stated that despite the final contravention notices being served, it will continue to work with the informal settlers to provide affordable housing solutions.
According to the Department of Public Information, eight of the eleven households have applications within the CH&PA system, while the remaining three are in the process of formally applying to facilitate the relocation process.
Chief Executive Officer of CH&PA, Sherwyn Greaves; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Water, Andre Ally; Supervisory Engineer, Cy Rodrigues; as well as a number of engineers attached to the Projects Department of CH&PA also accompanied Croal on his visit.
Also present was a team from the Guyana Police Force to assist in the crafting of a security plan. The team included Senior Superintendent of Police, Calvin Brutus; Deputy Commissioner (Ag) Clifton Hicken; and Regional Commander of “4A” Division, Simon Mc Bean.
