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Corentyne farmers lose legal bid to reclaim lands from NICIL
Kaieteur News – A group of farmers from the Corentyne, Berbice area lost their bid in court to reclaim lands that are now under the control of National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
Justice Fidela Corbin
According to the judgment delivered by Justice Fidela Corbin, on August 18, last, the group of 25 Corentyne farmers, who had moved to the High Court in 2018 to reclaim the lands, will now have to fully relinquish the acreage and pay damages and court costs in the sum of $35,000 each.
Through their coop society representatives: Asheem Ali, Chandra Sohan, Chandradatt Ramotar, Mohamed Ali Khan, Abdul Haniff, Dianand Jhando, and Azeez Ali Khan, they had approached the court asking for full rights to the land as well as for damages in excess of $48 million for their losses and the destruction of property.
Upon reading the application and affidavits of both NICIL and the farmers, the High Court Justice ruled that the farmers must give up all occupation of the entire 350 acres of land located at Plantation Johns/Clifton in the Corentyne area by September 19, 2022.
The Judge had also ordered that the farmer remove all encumbrances of the said land and restrain themselves, servants, or agents from any further occupation of the said property.
In their pleadings, the farmers claimed that initially they had obtained 10-year leases between the Johns/Clifton Co-operative Land Society Limited and the Port Mourant Company for 350 acres of land.
When the lease expired in 1975, the Society’s members never applied for new leases, but they continued to live, cultivate, and rear animals there until they decided to approach the Government via the Central Housing and Planning Authority with a view of acquiring title to the lands. The farmers claimed a process was established by which portions of land were allotted to some of the residents, after which they obtained transport in their names.
They claimed to be in the peaceful possession of occupation of the said land until the Johns/Clifton Co-operative Land Society Limited forcefully and unlawfully evicted them from their land. It was noted, nevertheless, that sometime after the country gained independence in 1966, the land was transferred to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). And by 2012, the lands changed ownership from GuySuCo to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
The farmers protested against the transfer and called it erroneous since it includes portions of land for which some of them were issued transport and upon which their dwelling houses are located.
In their affidavits, the farmers said, on March 1 of 2018, NICIL entered an agreement with the Johns/Clifton Co-Operative Land Society Limited for a term of five years for the lease of lands which included the one which they occupied and had transports for.
And to make matters worse, the farmers said that sometime after they said the Co-op Society entered their lands “armed with weapons and forcefully evicted persons,” precluding them from farming the lands. The residents said that they were harvesting their rice and other crops and had begun planting on their lands when they were forced out of the lands.
As a result, the decision to challenge the award of the large portions of the leased lands to NICIL as erroneously and illegally leased, and in breach of their fundamental rights. However, NICIL, the privatization unit under the government, filed a countersuit challenging the claims. The court action which was filed in 2021 as a fixed date application concluded last month.
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