Lashonda Ellis, a 23-year-old woman who was a resident at the now-demolished Mocha Squatting area was terminated as an employee of the Ministry of Home Affairs for “acting in a manner that would bring the Ministry into disrepute”.
In an interview yesterday with Stabroek News, Lashonda Ellis, who is a single mother of one, stated that her contract was terminated without her being given an opportunity to respond. Ellis participated in a protest and standoff with Ministry of Housing and Water officials on January 5. Her house was later demolished.
One week after the house was torn down, Ellis was asked to visit the PPO (Principal Personnel Officer), “They called me the Monday and said the PPO want to talk to me, so I told them at that time I don’t have any clothes to come to work because my house was bulldozed. They say they will do it via Zoom, I said okay [but] they never call. I think on Wednesday they called and say come in they want to see me. When I go in one of the girls said ‘Morning, we have some bad news for you,’ and I said ‘okay’, she said, ‘the Ministry terminating your contract.’”
Ellis explained that when she visited the officer there were no discussions with anyone about the reason for the letter of termination. The data entry clerk added that the Ministry had some outstanding monies for her from the month of September as well as her gratuity, when she inquired about it she was told that it is still being processed.
Ellis had been working with the Ministry of Home Affairs for four years as a data entry clerk at the Providence Police Station, East Bank Demerara. She is currently staying at a family member with her 2-year-old child. The young woman was lost for words as it relates to the current situation.
The Mocha Arcadia squatters were said to be in the path of the four-lane road project. Ellis was one among seven squatters who held out for better compensation offers from the Ministry of Housing and Water.
After months of warning, Minister of Housing Collin Croal on November 30 made a final plea to the remaining Mocha Arcadia squatters who hadn’t taken up the move-in-ready house deal. The squatters were previously offered compensation for their existing properties and residential house lot, however these offers were rejected by the remaining squatters.
Subsequent to the demolition, the government stated that its offer was still on the table.
