The government will be establishing three housing schemes along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway to put an end to squatting in the area.
President Irfaan Ali met with members of several communities along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway yesterday to discuss issues plaguing residents in the area.
Ali told attendees at the meeting that the government will not be tolerating squatting and will be putting projects in place that will hopefully eradicate the practice.
“We have a lot of illegal and new settlements emerging and they bring out their own challenges so one of the things we are going to do at the level of government [is] to identify a few areas where we are do some planned settlements to remove squatters along the highway,” Ali said.
The President disclosed that three areas along the Highway will be identified by the end of the first quarter of this year for the development of housing schemes that will have all the necessary infrastructure and amenities.
All squatters along the Highway will be relocated to those housing schemes.
“We want to ensure that everyone has a better and improved standard of living,” he said.
Some residents expressed disappointment at the planned relocation saying that they like their current place of abode but the President told them that there is a need for compromise as squatting is illegal.
He assured that the government will assist persons with kitchen gardens or farms with replanting or rebuilding. However, he noted that more comprehensive consultations will be done to figure out the logistics and to create a path forward.
He subsequently asked attendees if they are in favour of relocating to the housing schemes and the majority said yes.
“Let us work together to bring some planned development that will get all the necessary facilities. I would advise to hold off on any construction. We will have a technical meeting and then decide how to move forward,” he said.
According to Ali, the housing schemes should be completed within the next three years.
