December target for Coopers Pen relocation

WESTERN BUREAU:

During a visit yesterday to Coopers Pen in Trelawny, where 20 houses were flattened during a demolition exercise on August 11, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said he is targeting December for the start of a relocation programme for some 99 eligible residents.

Describing the demolition, which occurred after a long-running legal dispute between private landowners and persons occupying the property, as a “humanitarian tragedy”, Holness said the Government could not stand by and allow the affected residents to suffer, even as it respected the rights of private landowners and the outcome of the court process.

“No one wants to lose their home under these circumstances,” said Holness, while outlining that temporary assistance had already been provided and that the Government would also assist affected families with back-to-school needs.

According to Holness, the Government had identified two separate parcels of land, one near Coopers Pen and another elsewhere in the parish, to which eligible residents could be relocated.

He said he wanted the relocation process to begin by December, although he cautioned that he could not give an absolute guarantee because infrastructure works, contracting arrangements, weather and other administrative processes could affect the timeline.

“I would like to see the relocation started by December. I am going to personally oversee the process of your relocation,” he promised.

The Ministry of Housing has reportedly begun surveying the affected residents, with interviews already conducted with 70 per cent of the households in the community. The Social Development Commission and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security are also expected to assist in assessing households, families and vulnerable residents.

However, it should be noted that Holness stressed that not everyone living in the community would automatically qualify for government assistance.

“We don’t have limitless resources,” he said, while seeking to discourage persons who might want to move onto the property in the hope of getting into the planned relocation.

Under the proposed arrangement, eligible residents – persons who were named in the court action – could receive surveyed service lots within planned subdivisions, which will be completed with roads, water and electricity infrastructure. However, Holness said the lots would not be free, noting that residents would be offered several options, including long-term leases, National Housing Trust benefits, upfront purchase arrangements and subsidised social housing for persons with limited or no income.

While the residents appeared to be comfortable with the relocation offer, they were not happy with the December timeline, which they see as far too long, especially given the uncertainty over when the 40 houses left standing will be demolished.

Craft vendor Suzie Campbell, one of the affected residents, made a personal appeal to Holness for an assurance that residents would be relocated before any additional demolitions.

“We want to make sure we are relocated before the demolition takes place. We have not got any assurance about that,” Campbell told Holness.

Holness told her that he had not personally contacted the other party involved in the dispute and was unaware of whether any other arm of Government had done so, while stating that the Government did not intend to interfere in a private dispute that had already been determined by the courts.

While stating that the Government does not support the illegal occupation of private property, he said the Coopers Pen situation demonstrates the need for a more effective national response to informal settlements.

“My objective is to make all of you here property owners,” he told the residents. “In a sense, Coopers Pen provides a watershed for Jamaica that we can get on the right path that we should have been on.”

He said the Coopers Pen crisis should therefore serve as an opportunity to reform Jamaica’s approach to informal settlements, with greater emphasis on planned communities, secure tenure and helping low-income families become legitimate property owners.

“We have a policy already in place. I’ve asked Minister Robert Montague. I’ve given him specific duties to review those policies,” he said, “In a couple of days, he will come back to me with a general proposal as to how to treat the matter. So yes, the Government will have a general response to deal with the rising issue of regularising and relocating squatter settlements.”

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com