By Clifford Stanley

MEMBERS of the Dominoes Cattle Farmers Co-op (DCFC) who have been occupying State lands at Gelderland and Schumaker’s Lust on the West Bank of the Berbice River for over 30 years will be granted leases, despite the objections of members of the neighbouring Ithaca Agricultural Land Development Association (IALDA).The members of the IALDA staged a two-hour picketing exercise outside the head office of the MMA/ADA at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice, to demonstrate their objections last Friday.
During the exercise, spokesman for the  IALDA,  Pierre Williams, maintained that the State lands aback of Schumaker’s Lust and Gelderland  belong to the  people of Ithaca by tradition.
He said that although the association had obtained leases for lands aback of Ithaca and Zorg-en Hoop years ago,   members had maintained an interest in the State lands aback of the Gelderland and Schumaker’s Lust Villages for several years.
Williams also said that the foreparents of the people of Ithaca had informally occupied these lands, but had allowed members of the DCFC to rear cattle there several years ago out of a sense of brotherhood.
A lack of resources had prevented the IALDA from regularising their interest in the state lands in the two villages.
The IALDA spokesman charged that a decision by the Board of Directors of the MMA/ADA to hand over the lands aback of the villages to the DCFC was an act of favouritism to friends and cronies.
However, in an invited comment, General Manager of the MMA/ADA Aubrey Charles stated that although disgruntled members of the IALDA had been given an opportunity to provide some sort of documentary proof that the State lands aback of the two villages belonged to them, they have not provided any such proof.
He added: “It could be true that they might have had some sort of informal occupation many years ago, but there is no supporting documentation. It’s just these ‘word- of- mouth’ claims. That cannot work.”

He said further that the IALDA was given a lease for State lands aback of Ithaca years ago and there was no claim to the lands aback of the two adjoining villages at that time.
On the other hand, members of the DCFC had submitted historical records to prove their occupation over the years.
Williams, however, said that the IALDA would examine its legal options to prevent the MMA from handing the lands over to the DCFC.
Meanwhile, commenting on another matter in which the members of the IALDA are currently embroiled with a lawyer over the ownership of the front lands at Schumaker’s Lust, Charles said that these lands were privately owned and any dispute was a matter for the court.
He stressed that the MMA had jurisdiction over State lands only. And it will forge ahead to give leases for the State lands at Schumaker’s Lust and Gelderland to the DCFC in the absence of any other information to convince the board to do otherwise.