— others to be relocated to Cummings Lodge

SATURDAY was described as a blessed day by 20 families who were squatting in the Broad and Lombard Street area, as those families finally received their house lots. The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) hosted a lottery for the families who were able to pick their house lots at Prospect, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

“The process to relocate the residents of lot 17 and 18 Broad Street and have resettlement for them started in 2017,” said Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Yearwood, during her remarks on Saturday.

Persons who were squatting at Broad Street were forced to move as a result of a court order in 2017.

“We know it was a time of turmoil for those people because 140 persons including men, women and children were affected,” said Minister Yearwood.

In an effort to find a solution to the problem, government decided to partner with Food For The Poor Guyana to build houses for persons who were displaced.
The government entered into a 50/50 partnership to construct houses in Prospect and Cummings Lodge.

In 2017, the CH&PA had hoped to relocate the residents to an area in Mocha- Arcadia. However, that plan fell through when the efforts to relocate the squatters there were met with resistance from residents and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of the community. The Mocha NDC contended that the land which was allocated to the squatters was ancestral land.

Subsequent to this contentious period, the CH&PA had explored the possibility of relocating the squatters to Barnwell on the East Bank of Essequibo (EBE), but that area was deemed inappropriate because of the poor soil condition.

“Many people talked you down, but the talk down must force you to prove them wrong, because people have put you down… they felt you were not good enough to live where they live, so show them you are better than what they believe,” said Minister Yearwood.

TAKE UP FARMING
She believes that the families will create a community which will be a force to reckon with. The minister encouraged the families to take up farming.

“You have a powerful area…a nice community where we will put you all…we upgraded your lives to bring development, not to put you in a similar situation,” said Minister Yearwood, adding that the families, when relocated, will automatically do things to improve their lives.
Instead of being isolated, the families will be moved to the community which has low, moderate and middle-income families.

The minister said the initiative could not have been possible without the intervention of other key ministries and organisations, such as Youth Challenge and Child Link.

While only 20 families will be moved to Prospect, the remaining persons will be moved to Cummings Lodge where 72 houses are being constructed. Some $43 million was allocated by the CH&PA in 2017, to have 72 houses erected for the squatters.

“We got the approval from Cabinet to go ahead with the development of Cummings Lodge, but you have to be patient because we have to do land-clearing and build roads and so forth,” said Yearwood.

Construction of the houses in Prospect will begin in April and is expected to be completed in two months.

Although it was good news for everyone who benefitted, it was extra special for the five families who were displaced after a fire destroyed their homes early in March.
The beneficiaries were elated, noting that they thought it was all over, but getting the house lots has given them new hope.

“I gon be able to put my children them in a better place,” said Charmain George, a mother of six who benefitted from the lottery.

In addition to getting the house lots, 40 women were honoured on International Women’s Day, which was celebrated recently.

The 40 women received a grocery voucher worth $4,000, which could be cashed at any Bounty outlet.