— say recent business operation pushing families out of their homes
— want GLCS to confirm legitimacy of an alleged lease of the land

PERSONS within a community of over 700 households, just off the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, are fearful that they may soon become homeless due to a land dispute which is forcing them off the land they have lived on for years.

Since 2009, scores of persons from as far as Region 9 have been relocating to the community of Circuitville, Yarrowkabra, as squatters, in search of new beginnings for their families. The community members said that persons have moved to the location due to their inability to meet the high cost of rent, land and housing elsewhere.

Though the community is of mixed race, it is made up of mostly Amerindians who were there since the late 1990s.

As they arrived, they cleared the land, built the houses of wood they could afford, planted kitchen gardens and cash crops and settled in, adding to the population, their children and grandchildren. If one should count adults and children, about 3,000 persons now live there.

HOPES FOR REGULARISATION

However, in October 2019, things took a turn when residents were candidly informed that 50 acres of the State-owned land had been leased to two individuals and sand-pit related construction work would immediately commence.

The affected subsection of the community has been told by the new alleged lessees to pack up and leave, as their farmland and homes would be destroyed to make way for the new development.

A group of 12 residents, representing those affected, met with representatives of Guyana Chronicle recently to tell their stories. However, to understand the entire situation, one must first venture back to 2014, when then Shadow Minister of Housing and Water, Joseph Harmon visited the community.

Harmon had visited, in light of the community’s wish to be regularized, and an order coming from the then Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) administration to cease trespassing on State lands or “strong actions” would be taken.

The squatters were very organised and were interested in becoming regularised which would permit them access to water and electricity. Harmon had promised to make inquiries of the GLSC, and had encouraged them to create a register of all persons in the area and the portions of land they occupied.

So began the agreement that the residents would apply to the GLSC for land titles and, from 2015 through 2019, the community has been seeking to meet the requirements.

These efforts involved a correspondence between the GLSC and the Hauraruni/Yarrowkabra Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) whereby the NDC approved a list of persons who occupied the Yarrowkabra West area which is seeking to be regularised. The Guyana Chronicle was told that all applications were sent in as of December 2019 awaiting approval which may have been delayed due to the 2018 no-confidence motion.

NEW LESSEES

The most recent correspondence between the NDC and GLSC seen by the newspaper was on October 14, 2019. Just two days prior, the NDC had received a ‘Notice of Intended Survey’ in which it was announced that there were new lessees of portions of the and.

The document bore the signature of GLSC Manager of the Land Administration Division, Michael Hutson, who is publicly known to have resigned from the Commission in June 2019.

“I hereby give you notice that I am employed by Mr. Wajid Ali [sic], to survey Tract ‘A’, being a portion of land held under State Land Lease No. A-21663, situated in the rear of Plantation Hyde Park, in the County of Demerara and known as Lease No. A-21663, which adjoins lands in your custody and or administered by you. I shall commence to survey the same on Saturday the 12th day of October, 2019 at 10:30hrs. of the said day,” the notice stated.

The residents not only question the location of the land named as ‘Hyde Park’ but the legitimacy of the lease and under which authority it was approved. The lessees are “Wajid Ally” and “Bibi Zalina Ally” as stated on the document shown to the newspaper. It was signed on July 27, 2006.

However, most of the residents claim that they are constantly approached by one Fazal/Fazir Mohamed aka Basheer who owns a sand pit concession miles away from the Circuitville area. The Guyana Chronicle’s research shows that the Mohamed sand pit was cited in 2018 for “glaring infractions” whereby mining operations were encroaching on the highway, the flooring was dirty, the overburden was not properly cleared and workers were not attired in proper safety gear.

NOWHERE TO GO

Even so, the community members said that the business owners are now involved in grading the land which is largely affecting the community which simply wants to be regularised. Persons living in the area are doctors, nurses, teachers, members of the disciplined services and more.

One resident, Jean James, a single parent of five children who has lived in the community since 2014 said that she was offered money to leave the location. She said that she was first told to name her price; then a proposal of 500,000 was put on the table which was later reneged to 300,000.

James said that the offers, in no way, amounted to the over 1 million she injected into the home and land and her family has no one to turn to if they are forced to leave. “We don’t have any place to go. Where are we going to go?” one resident said, reminding that their children go to school at Yarrowkabra.

Pork knocker, Pascal Michael, said that he has been living in the area since 2014 but came home in March 2020 to find that sand was on his lot where he had spent over $145,000. His efforts to place 60 posts for fencing and his 20 coconut trees were uprooted.

“I had to move,” he said. “They didn’t give me any money. They said the place belonged to them so I had to move.”

Another resident, Gladwyn Fordyce said: “Everybody that occupies a piece of land there, everybody plants. Everybody has fruit trees and cash crops and everyone cleared the land and kept the place clean.” Fordyce is the Public Relations Officer of the Circuitville Community Development Council (CDC).

The squatters had to cut trees and remove other obstacles to make the land habitable which, when they arrived, was unexplored by any known government surveyor.

Meanwhile, Mark John, the father of eight children, said that he began to build a house in the location in April 2019 but his construction works have been halted due to the sand which has been placed right up to the house. “The guy said that if I don’t move in two weeks, he bulldozer gone do the rest,” John said.

The residents said that one woman was so afraid that she simply took whatever money was being offered to her and left the area.

President of the Circuitville Community Development Council (CDC), Melissa Mundo, also pointed out that the sand being brought to the area is causing erosion to drains dug by the community, while other construction material brought to the area is polluting its main water source.

“How can you make a sand pit or whatever you want to do there among people living there?” she asked.

Seventy-two-year-old Albert Samuel, who has lived in the area for 23 years, said that threats were made to “grade down” his house where he lives with his wife, 22-year old daughter and his grandchildren who all grew up there.

He said that the creek nearby his house which is crucial to water supply is blocked and stagnant. There is a foot of sand surrounding his house affecting his livelihood as a herbalist and farmer while the sand also blocks the entrance into the community.

Desire Griffith told the newspaper that, although residents have reached out to Mohammed, they have received remarks such as: “Wait until the government changes, we will get the land.”

WE WANT A SOLUTION

According to John, he has visited the GLSC and was informed that the said lease document being presented to the residents when they are urged to leave has expired and is therefore illegitimate. However, the community wants to hear directly from the GLSC on the matter.

Representing them is Patrick Triumph who has a background in law and business and interests in the preservation of human rights. He came into contact with the residents just about a week ago and heard of their plight. “We want them to cease and desist and we want to get the land regularised,” he said plainly.

Though only a portion of the 700 households are affected by the operations, the entire population of 3,000 seeks regularization.

Meanwhile, District Community Development Officer for the East Bank, Derick Boyce, has also been following the community’s concerns since 2013.

“People are there from that time to now and I think it’s fitting that since this issue of the bombarding of Mr. Mohammed Basheer, that the authorities responsible for looking into the various aspects of squatters or residents of an area are supposed to [act on the matter],” he said. Boyce made clear that time is of the essence as persons have been forced off the land overnight.