Linden houselot owners claim lands being coveted by the wealthy

Sep 26, 2011 News

Wenda Hooper of South Amelia’s Ward, Linden, is a struggling, partly disabled single parent of six.
Presently, Wenda cannot move around, unless it is with the aid of a walking stick, due to her arthritic condition.
But she has learnt to live with her condition, and has adjusted accordingly.
What she can however never come to terms with, is the fact that a plot of land that was allocated to her in 2002 by the Central Housing and Planning Authority, and for which she had paid completely, was coveted by a man whom she claims lives overseas.“To add insult to injury, this piece of land was stolen from right under my nose, and the man broke up my foundation, which I had already put down. That foundation cost me $500,000, and for the land itself, I paid $58,000. But this man couldn’t care less, he just come and break up everything, and then fence the place and build a bond. Now tell me, how could that be right? Is because this man living outside, and he got money and I ain’t got?”
Hooper resides in a small house obliquely opposite the plot of land she had acquired, and had witnessed the entire demolition process by the man, who continued what he was doing despite the intervention of the police.
“This thing happened in August 2009, it was a Friday, the twenty first to be exact- I could never forget that day. Was about nine o’clock, I look outside and see this man breaking me foundation. So I immediately went to see Mr Mingo at the RDC Office, and told him what was happening. Mr Mingo advised me to report the matter to the Mackenzie Police Station, which I did. However no police came to investigate the matter that day.”
Hooper said that after the man continued to destroy her foundation, the following day she again sought the intervention of the police, who subsequently visited the place and spoke to him.
He temporarily discontinued the activity but then resumed the demolition shortly after the police left, she reported.
Another call was subsequently made to the police station by Hooper’s mother. “But the said rank answered the phone and told my mother that this individual has legal documents for the place, and that he would like to speak to intelligent people.”
Within three days Hooper’s foundation was completely demolished.
Another visit to the Mackenzie Police Station resulted in Hooper and the man being taken by police to a Housing Officer by the name of Mr Payne, who advised Hooper that she would have to be relocated.
“Now tell me, how come is I got to be relocated, when I was there first and had acquired the land legally, and paid for it. Why they didn’t relocate this man. Is because he living outside? This is advantage, plain and simple. I’m a struggling woman. I cannot afford to build another foundation now, which would probably cost about three times what I spend on the last one. And this man ain’t got a conscience- he offering me $78,000 for my foundation that he break up. Now what I gon do with that? This is eyepass to the max,” Hooper complained.
The woman said that she was recently allocated another plot of land in Amelia’s Ward, but she presently has no money to erect another foundation. She said that she is also not prepared to accept the money being offered by the man for her old foundation.
Her only recourse now is to take legal action against him, but Hooper said that she cannot even afford that, given her present circumstances.
There have been several reports in Linden of persons ‘coveting’ lands that were already allocated and paid for by other people.
In many of the cases cited, the perpetrators are either persons of higher economic standing, or overseas- based Lindeners.
“It is time that this matter be looked into, or they gon get bloodshed”, one man declared. The man was also relocated, after his land was taken over by another, even though he had legal documents to prove his ownership.
He however chose to remain anonymous.
And a woman, whose land was coveted by another individual, had the last laugh, after she sought the intervention of higher authorities who ensured that she got back her land, complete with foundation and all.
Calls to the local housing authority for a comment on the challenges facing some land owners in Linden went unanswered.

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Linden houselot owners claim lands being coveted by the wealthy

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