Chairman of Region Three, Sheik Ayube and Parika/Mora NDC Chairman, Jaideo Sookhoo, say they are willing to work with Parika Sea Dam squatters to find suitable housing facilities.
In an interview with Stabroek News on Friday, Ayube pointed out that he is aware that the area has been occupied by squatters for many years. He also noted that every year the number of persons there grows. He however stressed that the area is a sea defence reserve and the residents should not expect infrastructural development in the area since the sea defence must be maintained.
When invited to comment on the rate of unemployment within the area, Ayube responded, “We have the ongoing part-time government initiative for employment and it’s also at the NDC. The region don’t have a centre where we can put them temporarily until they are allocated house lots, if we had one maybe we could have placed them there temporarily.”
He also advised that residents apply for house lots at the Ministry of Housing, “they can apply next Tuesday and then we can work from there, all of them can come to the office. They need to do the right thing, they can’t be squatting on the sea defence. It is getting dangerous, some build direct in the sea, what would they expect?”
Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Chairman, Sookhoo, in an interview with Stabroek News on Friday said, “Every year actually they are asked to remove from there, some years ago some were allocated house lots in Washington Scheme. While some people moved some other people take up there. We will not do development for the people living on the sea defence. It is not legal for us to develop those areas [sea defence].”
He added that despite the circumstances the people living on the sea defence reserve face daily, they remain at the area. “Why do they want to remain there? he asked. “We can assist them but not to [the] development of the sea defence. The regional office can help, if they have an interest to remove. I am willing to help and advise them, I can also make recommendations for them to move to safer places, but they need to do the right thing.”
Two Sundays ago the Sunday Stabroek featured the plight of those living on the sea dam. They said they had nowhere else to go.
Some people have had the opportunity to move out of the area in search of better lives. But others were not so lucky and have started their families right there.
Nandranie Budhoo, 27, is one such person. She grew up in impoverished conditions and was never able to escape it. Her three son, ages two, seven and eight have also ended up in the cycle of poverty. Her mother is helping her to take care of her eldest son.
Her husband is a push cart operator and she was thankful that the day before this newspaper visited, he had made $1100. He would go out every day to find work but many times he would come back empty-handed and would have no money for food.
For the past nine years they have lived in a ramshackle house and the rusted roofing sheets have holes and are leaking. They have placed a tarpaulin on the roof but rain would still get in. They would then hang a “saucepan to catch the water.”
According to Nandranie, they have never been able to save any money to fix it. She is pleading for help to rebuild the entire house so they can live in comfort. Among the few household items they own are a “bed, a little chair, a kerosene stove and some plates and cups.”
Following the publication of the news item, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal told Stabroek News that a team from his ministry will visit the Parika Sea Dam this month to advise squatters there on how they can find suitable housing.
In a telephone interview with Stabroek News, Croal pointed out that the area being occupied by the squatters is sea defence reserve. He asserted that the sea defence must be maintained. “It’s about doing the right thing, they can apply for house lots. There is a regional office in Region Three [where] they can visit the office. We cannot regularize the sea defence.”
Governments over the last few decades have routinely removed squatters from sensitive areas and offered housing options. It is unclear why those on the Parika Sea Dam had not been tackled by the government, Region Three council or the Neighbourhood Democratic Council in the area.
