By Clifford Stanley
THE Mahaica/Mahaicony Abary/Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) will be re-issuing leases to dispossessed land cooperative societies in West Berbice.The members of the Number 40 and Number 42 villages co-operative societies had their lands taken away by the previous administration “without due process”.
MMA/ADA Chairman Dr Ken Sealey said last week that the authority met, looked into the matter, and a decision was made to re-issue the leases, so that the “traditional owners” can regain their security of tenure.
The Number 40 Rice Farmers Cooperative Society Limited and the Seafield Rice Farmers Cooperative had been legally registered since the early and mid-1970s.
Sealey said this move will bring an end to the sufferings of members of the two co-operative societies, which they had experienced since June 2014 when the MMA, under the PPP administration, arbitrarily took away their lands.
It was pointed out that the lands in question were subsequently apportioned to people of their choice under leases granted by then President Donald Ramotar.
Members recalled last week that, in June 2014, they were shocked to see a notice in the newspapers stating that the portions of land for each of these societies were being taken away from them by the MMA/ADA to be regularised.
Lloyd Moore, leader of the Seafield Rice Farmers’ Cooperative, registered in 1976, said: “This was very disturbing, since both of these cooperatives were legally registered co-operatives, and there is a procedure for dissolving co-operatives. Besides, these were ancestral lands occupied and developed by our fore-parents since the abolition of slavery.”
Phillip Hamilton, leader of the Number 40 Rice Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited, registered in 1972, said that shortly after the notice, the MMA/ADA, under the former administration, arbitrarily cancelled the leases of the co-operative, reduced the holdings of some members, completely dispossessed other members, and brought in selected people from other villages onto their West Coast Berbice lands – some from as far away as the Essequibo.
This was after the co-op had expended in excess of $10 million in clearing bushes and maintaining the secondary dams, supplying PVC tubing for drainage and irrigation, and clearing and empoldering the said land over the years of occupation.
Leaders of the two co-operatives have since been fighting a legal battle to regain the lands; and in October of last year, the MMA/ADA rescinded the leases of 2014.
However, farmers Phillip Johnson, Rupert Blackman and Rawle Miller subsequently filed legal action against the MMA/ADA, challenging the cancellation of their 2014 State Land Leases. The farmers claimed, inter alia, that the leases were granted by former President Donald Ramotar, and only he, as Head of State, has the right to make such a cancellation.
After months of hearing the case in court, former Chief Justice Ian Chang, in February 2016, ruled in favour of these three farmers.
However, on March 18th last, President Granger, in keeping with his authority as President, cancelled all leases related to these lands, and the MMA/ADA is now taking steps to return them to the dispossessed members of the two co-operative societies, Sealey confirmed last week.
