Rather than offering leadership to facilitate national development, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., has accused the Opposition of trying to use squatting at Mocha, East Bank Demerara to fuel racial bias.
The Opposition had a “glorious opportunity” to offer leadership but rather turned up at the site and “tried to throw gasoline on fire” and injected racial bias, Nandlall said during his weekly television programme ‘Issues in the News’.
Despite being offered generous compensatory packages for their relocation, seven Mocha Arcadia/Cane View squatters who are on the alignment of the Eccles to Great Diamond Highway were initially demanding exorbitant settlements.
The Housing Ministry managed to successfully demolish the remaining illegal structures and four of the seven squatters accepted the government’s offer.
The government began engaging the Mocha squatters in 2008 after the area was primed for development, and then again in January, 2021 after resuming office and greenlighted the Eccles to Great Diamond Highway.
Nandlall explained that the squatters were illegally occupying the State lands as they possessed no Title, and even though they occupied the lands for a long period of time they were prohibited from claiming prescriptive rights by virtue of legislation.
“Is it fair that those tens of thousands of persons must continue to be affected because seven persons are refusing to move for the construction of an alternative roadway to bring relief, to bring reprieve and to bring convenience to tens of thousands?” Nandlall asked.
“Is it fair to put a halt on national development because of seven persons who have no colour of right to be on the State’s land and who are refusing compensation in the tune of millions and all the other help,” he added.
Nandlall reminded that relocating citizens for national development is not a new phenomena in Guyana and across the world.
“Moving persons, acquiring property for national development has always been part of the repertoire of powers that a state must necessarily possess and when the occasion arises, the state must be able to exercise it in the public’s interest,” he said.
He reminded that since assuming office in 1992 the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), hundreds of squatter settlements across Guyana were regularised, with boundaries readjusted and persons relocated.
He noted that even landowners were relocated due to major development projects undertaken in the public’s interest.
The Attorney General listed a number of projects, including the new Demerara Harbour Bridge and Schoonord to Crane four-lane road, where persons will have to be relocated to facilitate development and are being engaged.
He pleaded with the remaining persons who occupied the lands and are being engaged by the Ministry of Housing and Water to accept the lucrative offer by the government.
