THE Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is engaging in a sensitistation programme to advise citizens in Georgetown of the illegality in squatting. Some of these billboards have been placed in communities such as Sophia, that has morphed into a major housing development, however uneven the development appears in infrastructure, sanitation and aesthetics. Such development arose out of the need to own a home, inability to pay rent and the prospects of employment and economic opportunities living in or within the city and its proximity.
The CH&PA cannot be faulted for moving to enforce the laws and bringing about orderliness in communities. At the same time, recognition of this pursuit should not ignore the socio-economic circumstances and desire of many who choose to squat. In policing the law, it may be helpful to have in tandem, recommendations by this agency to minimise and ultimately eliminate squatting.
They are those who squat because the process of acquiring a houselot is long and drawn out, frustrating citizens who are in dire need of a place to live or to avoid paying exorbitant rents. Then there is a category of squatters who do not have the financial wherewithal to meet the rules of the housing authority to commence construction within a stipulated time, lest their land be confiscated. All these instances underlie socio-economic challenges.
The aforesaid does not ignore there can be no denying that squatting presents the appearance of uneven development. Not only aesthetically is it considered less than pleasing to the eyes, but the public health risks and safety to those squatters and society are important. Squatting areas often do not have proper infrastructures such as sewage systems, roads, drainage and potable water. It not unusual to see solid waste and faeces floating in yards during flooding, children playing in the same water, and families even using the said water for various consumption and other domestic purposes.
The Government has laid out major plans for housing development and it is hoped that the ownership of a home will exclude none, irrespective of economic status. A home is a person’s most prized possessions, his or her pride of place, identification of achievement or accomplishment, and is therefore sought after with dogged determination. It is in this context it can be understood and appreciated why a shack condemned by the up-and-coming or economically better off, is prized by its owner and would be defended against any invader.
A home represents man’s dignity and accomplishment. As such, housing development has to recognise the desire to a home not as luxury, but ensuring one’s dignity in the community. The time may be ripe to look at revisiting housing policies on ownership, such as having subsidised housing where low-income and vulnerable groups can own and rent, revisiting rules pertaining to land acquisition and home- building. There is also need to look at making financing non-prohibitive to those who want to own a home and are prepared to work hard for it. Public education is also an important component to tackling and managing squatting, not only in reminding of its unlawfulness, but also providing needed information about opportunities available to acquire land, loans, and housing based on economic circumstances.

Squatting ought to be discouraged, since it inhibits the orderliness and public health in society. The current squatters that were encouraged along the embankment on the east/west canal, north of East and West Ruimveldt, inhibit the maintenance of this canal. At times of heavy rainfall, the lack of this maintenance contributes to flooding in South Georgetown. It may require a resettlement programme to meet the needs of this specific demographic, since the social consequences of seeking to remove them by force would be less than desirable. Programmes such as turn-key houses, low-cost rents, government-subsided housing, and where necessary, collaboration with lending institutions to provide loans at low interest should be worthy of examination. Compassionate and proactive approaches to managing the squatting problem would respect and protect the dignity of those who often squat out of a desire to pursue self-development.