Left: Clarke: 'We are ready to tackle squatting'. Right: Chang: 'It's just more hot air from Gov't'
A SQUATTER MANAGEMENT Unit has been established by Government to take a two-pronged approach to bring more than 300 informal and illegal settlements islandwide under control.
Roger Clarke, Minister of Agriculture and Land, launched the unit yesterday and explained that it will first deal with the regularisation of existing squatter settlements and then the prevention of new settlements.
In the first instance, existing settlements, which are seen as either too large or posing no immediate risk to the environment, will be regularised. This will be carried out in collaboration with Operation PRIDE, the Ministry of Housing, Water, Transport and Works and the National Land Agency, to develop the areas into acceptable housing solutions.
RESIDENTS GET THEIR SAY
The residents will be given a say in the development process and will be expected to contribute in financing the project.
According to Mr. Clarke, who was speaking at his Hope Gardens, St. Andrew office, squatting is a deliberate attack on the rule of law, and eviction will therefore become necessary in certain circumstances.
"I wish to stress that where it is deemed necessary, eviction will be carried out in a humane, but resolute manner, with due regard to the dignity of the residents; and no stone will be left unturned to ensure that they are relocated," he said.
To help prevent new squatter settlements from ever being formed, the Government has set up a hotline (1-888-977-7344) which can be used by the public to report illegal settlements as soon as they show signs of emerging.
"This is the surest way of assisting us to reduce the number of squatter settlements and ultimately, to control the activity," Mr. Clarke said.
The Agriculture and Land Minister admitted that a major cause of squatting has been the Government's failure to develop adequate housing solutions.
GOV'T FIVE YEAR PLAN
"In this regard, I am pleased to be able to refer you to the Government's five-year plan for housing, to be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing, Transport and Water, the National Housing Trust (NHT) and the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC)," he said.
But these pledges did not sit well with Dr. Horace Chang, Opposition spokesman on housing and inner-city renewal. According to Dr. Chang, the unit and the plan to provide housing to the poor is nothing more than a clever public relations stunt.
"It's just more hot air from the Government. The unit does not solve the problem. What we need is a defined policy which will stipulate how these persons will be integrated back into the economy and a plan showing how the new housing solutions will be funded," he told The Gleaner yesterday.
