Town Clerk, Candace Nelson has issued notices to remove with immediate effect to several persons who are living on a wharf owned by the Mayor and City Council, on Holmes Street, Georgetown. But the Mayor of Georgetown, Alfred Mentore has informed this newspaper that the notice to remove was not a council’s decision but rather was a unilateral decision by the Town Clerk.
Mentore expressed his concern with the Town Clerk’s action to issue the notice while explaining that it was a squatting issue. Mentore said that a statutory meeting was held the day before the notices were issued and the issue was never raised at the council. Mentore said he is cognisant of the sensitivity of the matter and said that matters of this nature require a discussion by the full council. Mentore disclosed that the matter will be ventilated at the next statutory meeting.
According to the Mayor, central government will need to be consulted on the issue as the affected persons will have to be relocated and that land and other resources will have to be identified to facilitate a smooth transition. He also mentioned that a letter was written to Nelson to have the matter taken to the level of the full council.
“This is not an issue that the council has made a decision on. We believe that if we are going to treat which such a matter, you’ll have to come to the full council… we have to look at other things concerning it and figure out what we can do, how we can work with government and how we could treat with the general aspect of the displacement of these persons. The reality is that it’s one of those decisions that will have a major consultation with central government as to how we deal with that but it’s not something that we will move on with,” the letter stated.
Nelson told Stabroek News that several complaints were received about the persons occupying the wharf area and their unhygienic living conditions. In addition to the dilapidated homesteads, the wharf structure poses a high risk to the lives of persons. Nelson mentioned that her contention, given that it is council’s property, is that lives can be lost. To prevent the council from being held accountable for negligence in allowing persons to continue living under those conditions, the notices were issued. Nelson reasoned that with this course of action, the council will be free from future claims or charges in the future. “It’s not like the council is giving them permission to operate there, and in order to avoid future blame on the council should anything happen, I issued notices to those persons asking for them to remove,” Nelson said.
Some twenty-four households, made up mainly of unemployed or self-employed single parents and extended families, including about fifty children, live on the wharf. The dwellings are surrounded by debris and access to these homes is via a narrow walkway which is made of a mix of water and concrete. There is little to no separation of the shacks and infants and children were observed traversing in the water without footwear. There was no proper garbage disposal system within sight.
Hazel Kerr, a 59-year-old woman who lives on the site told Stabroek News yesterday that she received the notice from the council last week. Kerr explained that she has been living in the area since she was 9 years old. She added that Mayor Mentore visited the area and told them that the letters were not issued by him and that a decision will be made at the level of the full council. The woman reasoned that relocation was not an issue but she is unemployed and will not be able to afford a piece of land.
Alan Wilkinson, a 75-year-old man explained that he has been occupying the space for 40 plus years. He said he would be grateful for a house lot since he was issued with the notice to vacate the area. The other residents to whom Stabroek News spoke and requested anonymity have made clear that relocation was not an issue for them and have expressed hopes that the issue will result in a favourable outcome.
