Govt gets tough with squatters

Junior Communities Minister Valerie Sharpe-Patterson has sounded a warning to persons who continue to squat on Government land, even though they were granted house lots by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

The Minister, who has responsibility for the housing sector, told a Tuesday morning news conference that Government will be taking strict actions against those persons – actions as extreme as breaking down the squatters’ houses.

She explained that some persons opted to rent out their legal house lots and live in squatter settlements.

“There are a number of squatters who already have an allocation of a house lot, some of them built on it and is renting and they are squatting, so they are squatting and they are collecting rent. We are going to deal with those persons. We are going to break them down (squatter houses) if they don’t move,” the Minister said, noting that notices have already been served to the respective squatters.

Low-cost homes

Meanwhile, Government will be building low-cost houses for some 700 squatters who currently reside in Sophia, East Ruimveldt and West Ruimveldt.

Over the years, the programme will be expanded to provide housing solutions to squatters in different locations across the country.

“We can’t deal with all the areas, as we continue along the year, we are going to clean up,” Patterson said.

The CH&PA has already identified a location for the construction of the low-cost wooden houses to accommodate the squatters from the central Georgetown locations first.

Minister Sharpe-Patterson made it clear that the houses will not be given away free of cost.

“We are knowledgeable of the fact that some of these persons have applications in our systems for years, they say ‘I have applied formally but I haven’t received an allocation of a house lot, but I have to find somewhere to live’. Those arguments have been advanced and I quite understand, I don’t say that has given you a reason to squat, you can go rent but I don’t believe you should break those people houses down and leave them on the road,” the Minister explained as one of the main reasons why they have decided to construct alternative living arrangements for squatters.

However, she said if the squatters still refuse to move even after being offered the alternative arrangement, then Government will have no other choice but to remove them from the squatting areas.

“We have to restore order to the city,” she stressed.

Regularise

While Government has been successful in regularising some of the squatting areas, Minister Sharpe-Patterson noted that it is impossible to regularise all the areas where persons have illegally taken up residence.

“You cannot regularise some of the squatting areas, some of the areas you cannot put any infrastructural work,” she explained.

Furthermore, the Minister highlighted that squatting poses major environmental and health issues to the squatters, as well as persons who live in surrounding areas.

Last year, the CH&PA regularised 221 squatters which fell below the annual target of 400.