Shop owner clashes with City Council over Govt. reserve

Feb 21, 2014 News

A 47-year-old resident of Section ‘C’ Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara, was involved in a public standoff with officials of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) yesterday after, according to the man, they tried to force him off of a plot of land in South Ruimveldt “without due process.”

Julius Belgrave sits in the path of a contractor who was employed to destroy the foundation leading to his shop.

Julius Belgrave said that he had sent in a letter of application since last year to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission which sought to ascertain how he could obtain a lease/rental or the opportunity to purchase the land, which the officials insist is Government reserve.
When Kaieteur News arrived on the scene yesterday at Aubrey Barker Road (the section between North and South Ruimveldt), Belgrave explained that he had been trying tirelessly to obtain the land legally, and had started land-clearing on the once empty plot.
He has been operating a registered grocery business —‘Goldanapple’ — from the location for the past ten years.
But engineers and other officials of the Mayor and City Council who were on site demanded that Belgrave remove from the premises forthwith.
Armed with a jackhammer, they expressed their initial intent to destroy the concrete foundation which served as a pathway for Belgrave’s vehicle and his shop
In protest, the father of two sat on the concrete platform as he demanded from the officials that they show him proper documentation that they own the land they claim to be “government reserve.”
“I will only move when I see that. It is only right. If they are claiming that they own the land then let them deal with the matter properly. They can’t remove me without due process.”
When Kaieteur News made efforts to see the said documents which the aggrieved man had requested, engineers on site said, “We don’t have it, but the government has it, and since we fall under the umbrella of the government then we have ownership too.”
Some of the city officials who observed the man’s actions were heard arguing with one engineer in particular who was insistent on their removing Belgrave from the land so that they could move ahead with their plan.
One officer told the engineer, “I am not moving him. He is being peaceful.”
The engineer, who seemed peeved at the response, removed from the scene and made several calls and insisted that he would not give his name to this publication.
Belgrave provided this newspaper with documentation which reflected that according to the Deeds Registry, the plot of land he occupies does not have any record of ownership.
The shop owner insisted that he had filed several applications to lease the land.
“Growing up as a young boy I noticed that the plot was always filled with garbage and would observe several engineers and officials from the Mayor and City Council coming to clean it up. I made enquiries and I wrote them several times trying to get possession of the land legally.”
“Since my first application to the City Council, it has changed a few engineers and Town Clerks, and with each change I filed a new application as I was told that they kept no record. Off all my applications, none could be found, and it is frustrating. I have worked very hard over the years, trying to maintain this land and putting my energies into it and now they just want to take that away from me. I feel cheated.”
Despite voicing his disapproval, the officials destroyed foundation of the plot of land.
Belgrave explained that the officials have threatened to “tear down” his structure if he does not remove it.
He expressed hope that the situation would be settled in a peaceful manner.