Letter of the Day | Misguided advocacy on squatting

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Although we have a National Housing Trust (NHT) with the explicit mandate to help Jamaicans satisfy their most basic need for shelter, the phenomenon of squatting is evidence of its failure to provide adequate housing solutions to the average Jamaican. Undoubtedly, there is a legitimate need for housing; however, the practice of squatting should not be encouraged. The remarks of the Savanna-la-Mar mayor, Bertel Moore, and the leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, are therefore disappointing.

Perhaps in an effort to pander to the many potential voters who occupy lands in Little Bay, Brighton and Salmon Point in Westmoreland, Mr Golding has declared that the rights of its many occupants supersede the right of the owner to their property. Additionally, by insisting that they remain on the land, he deems the ruling of the court to vacate the property as inconsequential. This conclusion, coming from the former minister of justice, is alarming. Mr Moore agrees with Mr Golding and has publicly vowed to join the unwelcomed residents in their fight to stay on the land, although it has resulted in outbreaks of violence, and even death.

For years, those responsible for the parish’s development, including the office of the mayor, sat idly by and watched as this community mushroomed, albeit illegally. Is it, therefore, guilt in their own negligence that now fuels these individuals’ vigorous advocacy for these squatters? Interestingly, although this land dispute is long-standing, it appears little effort has been made to identify other suitable land, owned by the Government, for development and relocation of this community.

If Messrs Golding and Moore ultimately succeed in getting squatters to remain on this land, despite the owner’s desire to clear it and the court’s order for it to be vacated, it would set a worrying precedent. How can any landowner feel confident in their investment, knowing that recalcitrant settlers could come and lay claim to it at any point?

Orderly and legal development should be the goal of any country; however, in Jamaica we have become too comfortable with haphazard settlements which lack even the most basic infrastructure. The attendant problems of crime and violence which often plague informal settlements, was acknowledged by the minister of security, Dr Horace Chang, in a speech made in 2019, where he declared that this Government would take concrete steps to address this long-standing problem.

This fiasco in Westmoreland is therefore the perfect opportunity for the Government to show its commitment to tackling this issue of squatting. Those who support the squatters in Westmoreland would do well to direct their energies in holding the Government and the NHT accountable to fulfilling its responsibility to provide affordable housing for Jamaicans, rather than fostering the proliferation of squatting.

CONCERNED CITIZEN