By Subhana Shiwmangal
Following a protest on Tuesday by the evicted Hillfoot squatters, Minister of Housing Collin Croal says that efforts are being made to address their needs.
The homes of the squatters were destroyed after the owner of the land secured a court order for their eviction. After the houses were destroyed, the ministry intervened.
Croal in a telephone interview with Stabroek News on Tuesday said that Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) CEO, Sherwyn Greaves met with the protestors that day. Croal explained that there was a commitment for a portion of land for the Hillfoot residents on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway and other persons who are seeking lease lands. These persons were forwarded to the Lands and Survey Commission where an arrangement was made with the Commissioner to engage these persons.
Also, residents who applied for turn-key homes were addressed under the Ministry of Housing. For other residents still waiting to acquire their turn-key homes, Croal said he “understands the conditions residents are facing but it takes time for a home to be built”, noting the period since the evictions occurred – May 31st. He added that other persons who had applied before the Hillfoot squatters are also awaiting their homes. Croal noted that on June 1st, Greaves met with residents after their houses were destroyed and they were guided through the ministry’s housing programme which they can apply for once they are eligible. He noted that allocation of lots is done before the homes are build.
The protest on Tuesday which consisted of about 50 persons, including children, took place outside the Ministry’s Annex on Croal Street and started around 8 am and lasted for about an hour until Greaves engaged them. Residents subsequently told this newspaper that they were satisfied with their engagement with Greaves and will await the next steps to acquire their properties.
Suraj Shamlall, 47, said that the protest stemmed from the lack of information from the ministry and the CH&PA on what was happening with the promises that had been made to squatters.. Shamlall said about an hour after the protest started, officials from CH&PA came out and spoke to the protestors and five persons were delegated to go to Lands and Surveys. He said he had been informed by CH&PA’s staff that he would have received a call from CH&PA once his application for a land lease was processed. Shamlall was informed that efforts were being made to allocate land at Swan, located on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. He said he had already paid down the stipulated $10,000 for the land and was awaiting updates from the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys via the five persons’ delegation.
Shamlall said that as it stands, he and his family of five, with a baby on the way, are living with a friend. However he is worried since it has been already three weeks that he is waiting on a positive response from the ministry and the current living arrangement was only temporary. He said that he doesn’t know if he will soon have to pay rent for the home he’s living in or will have to find somewhere else to go. He opined that in an emergency case such as this, the ministry should have helped the squatters as most of them are living in deplorable conditions at the moment.
Mary Gustave said that since her eviction from her home, she and her family have been living in a shack. Gustave said she was there to protest as she had applied since last month for leased land from the CH&PA but up to now, all that was said to her, was, “they will call me”. This is adding to her frustrations as she doesn’t have a home. Gustave said that apartments are too expensive for her to she rent. She noted that she did pay down for the land when she applied and would like a response in relation to where on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway she will be placed.
Fowl pen
Adreana Torres who is pregnant and lives in a fowl pen with her family said that it has been a while since she made a payment for her turn-key home and was told that she will get a call every time she checked with CH&PA. For the past three weeks, Torres said, she and her family have visited the ministry to enquire about the status of her turn-key home, but so far they have not received any positive results. She noted that last week Tuesday when she visited the Ministry of Housing, a representative told her that Greaves has to sign off on a document and when that is completed, someone from the Ministry will call her. She acknowledged that the government did help the family with a hamper, and understands that they are trying to help, but she said that the housing system is not moving fast enough as the conditions worsen for her and her extended family.
Another resident, Alicia Reets told this newspaper that she was at work on Tuesday when she received a call from one of the residents that her name was called for a turn-key home. However, when she arrived at CH&PA, she had to refill her application form as she was informed that her original application could not be found. Reets said that she was satisfied with the swiftness of the service offer by CH&PA as she was taken directly to Greaves. She said she was advised that $130,000 has to be paid for the turn-key home, but a down payment could be made and the balance paid in installments.
Reets explained she was informed about an incomplete home in Diamond Housing Scheme but will await its completion. She said that she had enquired from a government official about the time it took to obtain a turn-key home or land and was told that the matter is being looked into. She was also told that there are people ahead of her and that she has to wait, although she explained she was living in deplorable conditions. She stressed that the squatters of Hillfoot will continue to protest until they receive a positive response from the government.
Radica Kamal, a single parent of two, said that although she was at work when the protest started, she was joining the call for the government to assist with building materials since she has been waiting for over three weeks for her turn-key home. She explained that she too is living in a shack after her home was demolished. She added that the shack she’s living in doesn’t have a proper foundation and nobody within the Ministry of Housing is saying anything significant to enable her “to live properly.” The response she receives every time she goes into the Ministry is that they don’t have any available lands and for her to be patient as they will call her once they have something available. She added that she will continue to protest until she feels that she is taken seriously by the government. She feels that the system is not moving as quickly as it should in emergency cases such as hers.
Greaves, in a response to the concerns of the Hillfoot squatters had explained that three families have opted for turn- key homes from a sister agency, also involved in the process to offer solutions. He noted that another two Hillfoot families have indicated their interest in land from CH&PA while others are being engaged by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) for plots on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. All of the families, according to Greaves, have started their transactions.
The Hillfoot squatters have been calling on government for weeks to fulfill their promises of leased lands or turn-key homes. On May 31st, the residents were evicted from the land they were squatting on. Around 40 structures were demolished. Following their eviction, residents responded with a series of protests that eventually led to clashes with the Guyana Police Force. Various government agencies then intervened.
