Broad St. squatters set for relocation

Oct 24, 2017 News

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…as CH&PA reaches consensus with Mocha NDC
The Central Housing and Planning Authority, (CH&PA) has reached an agreement with the Mocha /Arcadia Neighborhood Democratic Council, (NDC), on the relocation of squatters of Broad and Lombard Streets, Charlestown.

The squatters are slated be relocated to an area situated aback of the East Bank Demerara community and the CH&PA is moving ahead with efforts for the plan to materialise as soon as possible.
Minister within the Ministry of Communities, with the responsibility for Housing, Valerie Patterson updated that media on the steps taken to reach an agreement with the Mocha /Arcadia NDC.

CONSENSUS
During a press briefing held at the CH&PA Headquarters Brickdam yesterday, Minister Patterson informed the media that consensus was reached between the agency and the Mocha NDC.
According to Patterson, the consensus followed a series of consultation exercises with the Mocha village council.
The issue came to the fore last month after the Mocha-Arcadia Neighbourhood Democratic Council, (NDC) and the CH&PA held meetings to discuss the transfer of the Broad and Lombard Street residents to the area.
The Housing Ministry had outlined a plan to build turn-key homes for the Lombard Street residents, but the NDC had initially objected, citing the fact that the CH&PA failed to engage and consult the Village Council on the matter before taking action.
Additionally, the villagers had raised concerns that the relocation of those residents in large numbers would only add to the social issues already affecting the fairly depressed community.
According to the residents, some of the social issues affecting particularly the youth in the area include unemployment, drug abuse and teen pregnancies.

The villagers also noted general issues such as accessibility to adequate roads and drainage in the area.
However, yesterday, Minister Patterson outlined a multi-agency approach which will see some 15 families from Mocha benefitting from the new housing accommodations.
She explained the CH&PA had agreed to allot 15 houses to be erected to less fortunate families from the area as part of the agreement with the NDC.
This is reportedly based on a request by the village council.

DILEMMA
While she admits that the initial action taken by CH&PA to have the squatters was unilateral, Minister Patterson explained that the Lombard and Broad Street squatters had found themselves in a dilemma.
The squatters are being forced to move as a result of court action filed by the rightful owners of the property.
She said that because of the urgency of the matter, the CHPA moved to secure lands aback of Mocha. By the time they consulted the Mocha NDC, the Housing body had already committed to the squatters to have them relocated there”
“And the Government could not stand by and allow those persons to be evicted…thrown out on the streets without anywhere to go.”
Patterson noted that the Government has a responsibility to ensure every citizen of Guyana is secured with a house lot.
Additionally, the Minister held that it is social responsibility of the State to ensure that the lives of the people are improved.
To this end, Minister Patterson said that the Ministry will be providing quality accommodation for the squatters.

PROSPERITY
The Minister explained that some $43 million has been allocated by the CH&PA to have 72 houses erected for the people of Broad and Lombard Streets.
The project is a 50/50 effort between the Government of Guyana, Food for the Poor Guyana and private citizens.
The houses will accommodate some 49 families, relocated to 23 acres of land. The area is said to have capacity for the construction of 184 house lots
The Housing Project is being referred to as Prosperity.
According to Patterson, Prosperity is a name fitting, since the Housing Ministry is seeking to upgrade the lives of the squatters.
The CH&PA is collaborating with the Ministries of Social Cohesion, Public Security, Social Protection, Education and Public Health, to have the concerns of villagers and squatters addressed.
Kaieteur News understands that agencies such as Help and Shelter and Child Link are also part of the efforts.
“We are also looking to address the issue of roads, drainage and other infrastructural issues,” officials of CH&PA said yesterday.

RESIDENTS OF MOCHA
However some residents of Mocha are maintaining their stance on the matter.
Added to the contention over social issues, villagers are also highlighting the fact that Mocha was a plantation purchased by freed Africans or can be referred to now as ancestral lands.
Reginald Daniels, a re-migrant from the village is the most recent to add his voice to the issue.
Daniels views the recent move by the CH&PA as erroneous, given that lands that are currently identified in Mocha/Arcadia are largely ancestral.
Daniels noted that, “I came in to make a presentation to (Commission of Inquiry) in African ancestral and other land matters and after researching some documents that shows that lands going east to the Lamaha conservancy and lands going south to Diamond are within the boundaries of Mocha local government”
He said that the NDC office has receipts from Demerara Sugar Company and GuySuCo paid rates and taxes to the Village council.
To support his claim, the villager also noted that Dr. Walter Rodney in one of his writings stated one of the most outrageous acts of land grabbing was done in Mocha village.
The land grabbing caused a petition to be written by an Anti slavery movement on behalf of the freed Africans.
“We found that document by paying some researchers out of London which clearly states that some lands were sold, but when surveyed they took more land than what was sold, it further claimed that lands beyond the boundaries of Mocha, the colonial government and plantation clearly knew that those lands are a part of the village but they took it claiming it was crowned land.”
The land, he claims, that stretches towards the Lamaha conservancy is ancestral land, hence the government does not have any rightful claims to be giving out that land.

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