Can’t there be a sensible approach to housing for GT people?

Oct 12, 2013 Letters

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Dear Editor,
During this past week I heard claims being trumpeted about the phenomenal success of the PPP in the housing sector via distribution of multiple thousands of house lots which continue to expand exponentially. I do not write to, in any way, cast aspersion on these claims nor to shower pessimism. I write to offer some suggestions to include as useful additions to the housing development policy; I heard that Minister Ali is not averse to taking advice from citizens so I choose to take my chances here and now.
I wish to call into view and into the consciousness of Guyanese the thousands of squatters in the heart of Georgetown who live on the outfall-channel dams and numerous squatting communes; among them are East and West Ruimveldt Frontroad, North Bank of Laing Avenue Outfall (La Penitence), Yarrow Dam (East La Penetence) et al.  In fact, literally everywhere there is an outfall channel in the precincts of Georgetown there are squatters living in cramped shantytown conditions directly on the adjacent dams, with the singular notable exception being the Lamaha railway embankment which was cleared and squatters relocated to make way for primary power lines and car parks for the super-rich.
I now posit the view that any housing policy which does not directly and systematically target these dam-dwellers must of necessity come under serious consideration to be entered on the list of those policies that have failed.
When all is said and done there are some clear facts we must take cognizance of:
· The dam-top squatters pose serious public health problems due to the less than ideal living conditions.
· This problem has become a normal endemic feature of life in Georgetown.
· The dam-dwellers cannot ever own the land they now occupy
· The flooding problems that plague Georgetown can never be solved without relocating the dam-dwellers, because it is impossible to clean the outfall channels while the dams remain occupied, which exacerbates the flooding
The removal of the dam dwellers is inevitable and necessary if Georgetown will ever evolve into a modern, clean city. It makes every sense to relocate these dam-occupiers because it is the decent thing to do – to help maintain the dignity of a nation with an overabundance of habitable lands.
Owing to the facts just outlined, it is my settled determination that the government of Guyana is responsible for crafting a sensible and deliberate plan to rid Georgetown of the dam-top dwellers. The government should have, as part of their housing policy, systematically targeted these occupiers for incremental removal over a defined period of time, as such progress should have been observed as the dam-dwellers are absorbed into new housing programs and the dams are reclaimed.
As a nation we cannot just stand by and declare these people as illegal occupiers condemned to a “life ‘pon de dam.”  I propose that the Minister of Housing immediately commission a team to study and document the households and the type of housing program best suited to specifically meet the peculiarities of these people. Further, I suggest that apart from his colleagues within the government, the Minister should elicit the advice and support of parliament, NGOs and aid agencies to rid Georgetown of this blight to progress.
In this particular case it is not sufficient to just sit back and say that the land distribution is open to all Guyanese and there is nothing preventing these dam-squatters from applying, and if they do not take advantage they only have themselves to be blamed for “life ‘pon de dam.”
This insufficiency flows from the fact that these dam-dwellers who lived under the curse of poverty their whole lives, may have been overtaken by the rot of self-doubt, pessimism and a perception that the housing program is biased in favour of one set of citizens, along with the onerous bank loan process which discourages even some relatively well-off people.
These factors act together to con the poor into an endless cycle of poverty and kill their desire to seek alternative forms of existence. As such, I wish to submit that “life ‘pon de dam” is a socioeconomic problem that must be addressed in ways much different from the way things are, in that the housing program in its current form will not address this specific group of dispossessed people.
A PPP cynic may say that, “squatting on the outfall dams in Georgetown predates the PPP government so it’s not our problem,” I will not hesitate in acknowledging this basic fact, but one can also counter that by saying, when the PPP came to office the problem was in a mere embryonic state, today it is a monster.
The PPP could be easily accused of deliberately neglecting this aspect of Georgetown’s development, turning a blind eye while allowing the problem to grow out of control because the dam-dwellers are not their constituents. In this piece I will stay clear of such accusation and rather concentrate on the fact that whatever the causes and whoever is responsible, it does not change the fact that it is now a national problem, and as a nation we should own it and commit to a sensible solution. Any workable solution must, by its mere nature, be Government-led. If we do not embark on a swift program to solve this problem then this or any successive government will soon be the owners of a ticking time bomb, both literally and figuratively.
Consider this scenario; government housing policy continues as is, all are free to apply even the people ‘pon de dam, then all habitable lands in and around Georgetown are distributed and the dam-dwellers are not among the recipients. The last remaining lands in close proximity to Georgetown are in Region 3 or some other far-flung area, and because of the inevitability of their (dam-dwellers) relocation, lands are allocated and people stoutly refuse to move because they cannot see their existence anywhere outside of the precincts of Georgetown, a showdown then erupts between the Government and its people. The opposition not wanting to face the accusations of lethargy springs into action; the government is then faced with a plethora of accusations, including a deliberate plot to redistribute the opposition support base so that they could control Georgetown and Region 4 electorally. From there, things could become very venomous and nasty and hallows of hell could be let loose in Georgetown.
As a government, the tsars in charge can choose to craft a deliberate sensible policy to tackle this problem in a systematic way or sit by and watch it enrich like uranium in the hands of terrorists.
My own suggestion is that the Ministry of Housing should experiment with apartment buildings and multi-story housing complexes within Georgetown. This model may necessitate some legal provisions to allow persons to have titles to each apartment so that bank loans may be facilitated.
I believe there is still time and space for a sensible and feasible solution, but we must act quickly. I now petition President Ramotar, Minister Ali and this 10th parliament to tackle this problem without delay. In the meantime, it’s appropriate to invoke the term made popular by Gordon Moseley “life ‘pon de dam” continues.
Lenno Craig

 

 

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