Squatters who were recently relocated from lands that are currently being developed into a new residential housing scheme in Cummings Lodge will soon be regularised, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues announced last week.
In a brief telephone interview, Rodrigues informed that eleven squatters were placed on plots of lands nearby to the housing development after they were served with contravention notices.
According to the minister the regularisation process is in its surveying and planning phase and once completed will bring the ownership of house lots to the eleven squatters even closer to fruition.
The squatters of Cummings Lodge 1797 and 1768, which is being developed to accommodate 190 low-income earners had been given up until two Saturdays ago to evacuate the area.
The CH&PA on its Facebook page stated that the development is being undertaken by 13 contractors and some 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 feet x 30 feet. These are projects which fall under the $13.9 billion in contracts signed on March 16 by the ministry and CH&PA. Works on the low-income houses began late in March and are expected to be completed within the next four months.
When Stabroek News visited the area recently, 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 had already been installed in the area but a worker informed that the utilities are yet to be connected to the national grid.
Between, August 20, 2020 and April 3, 2021, the CH&PA said eleven actions were taken to engage with the squatters before they were relocated.
According to an advertisement published in April 7th edition of 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 had 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 developmental works that have been planned for the area
According to the notice published in the various 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 with a view to 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.
