Timehri residents say Govt. must meet with them

Nov 05, 2012 News

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By Zena Henry
Timehri residents at an emergency meeting yesterday said that the Government must meet with the community to discuss plans for the future of the residents living there.
The residents have rejected claims by Minister of Works Robeson Benn that the Government has been in talks with them and that they are working towards an amicable solution to relocate members of the community to facilitate the airport expansion project.
Chairman of the Timehri (North) Community Development Council (TNCDC), Daniel Fraser said that Minister Benn must meet with the residents since they have a proposal to put forward.
Fraser said that residents are willing to discuss the Inter- American Bank document “Guidelines for resettlement.”  According to Fraser in this document it is stated that for massive projects such as the airport expansion there must be an “Environmental Impact Assessment,” where a specialist comes in and takes note of the impact the project would have on inhabitants of the particular area.

Within this assessment, Fraser said the document noted that if there are persons who would be affected by the project, “squatting or not” there must be an assessment of the inhabitants social life. In that assessment the Chairman continued, “Persons’ houses must be valued, notice must be placed in the media about the resettlement plan, and officers set up to engage residents for compensation.” This assessment Fraser noted goes to the livelihood of the residents.
Apart from that, Fraser insisted that if moving is absolutely necessary then the Government must identify and make available an area that will accommodate all of the dislocated residents, while that area must have basic infrastructure. The residents called for an area where a school, a community centre, police station and other basic services are available.
In addition, Fraser said that the Government should compensate everyone living in the community who has taken time to develop the area. The Chairman noted that since the commencement of the Timehri community, residents have received no assistance from the Government towards developmental efforts, and thus believes that the affected people must be paid for their homes and their possessions at its current market value.
A second alternative, the residents said is for the Government to give the community proper infrastructure and services such as roads, drains, upgraded water supply, electricity and titles for the lands, so that residents could sell the land to those persons seeking to build hotels around the airport. The residents said that it was the Housing Minister Irfaan Ali who had made it known that they were in receipt of five applications sent to the Ministry for the construction of hotels around the airport.
Fraser later said that residents cannot be referred to as squatters since they were told by the Government via their officials that the area would have been regularized.
According to Fraser, Timehri was not the original place of settlement for some of the residents. He noted that it was a handful of persons who lived in Timehri while the other persons settled at the Timehri Base Road about two miles away. He argued that those persons were subsequently removed and they came to Timehri North, having been told that the land at the Base Road was agricultural lands that belonged to the Government. Those same lands, Fraser stressed, are now occupied and persons living there have been regularized. The residents noted that it would be unfair to be treated the same way again.
Fraser said when the Ministry official, Ms. Philomena Sahoye-Shury went to the area she regularized residents of the Kali Road, another community about a quarter mile away and persons living on the Timehri Base Road. He argued that residents of Timehri North were the last to be tended to and the promise of regularization was made. The residents said they were told to get the utility poles for electricity, pipelines for water and telephone service.  The amenities were put in place, the residents argued, but they are still to be regularized.
The Chairman also argued that Timehri North is in no way hampering the extension of the airport. He said that the residents are not in flight paths and none of the artist’s impressions highlight the hindrance residents pose.
Fraser later said that Cheddi Jagan International Airport Chief Executive Officer, Ramesh Geer had contacted him last month asking that a delegation from the community meet with Housing Ministry officials and Ministry of Works personnel.
Fraser said arrangements for that meeting were cut short when he was met with hostility when he asked about the Government officials that would be present. Fraser said he was met with further disrespect when he said that attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes would be present representing the community. Hughes, according to the chairman will be representing the interest of the community.
Fraser said he was contacted again last Thursday by Geer for another meeting and the community was asked to have no legal representative present, likewise no political affiliates from the Government would make an appearance, since according to Fraser, Geer called the get-together,  “a preliminary meeting.”
The community Fraser said is still awaiting a date for that meeting.

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