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Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Aubrey Norton, speaking Thursday at his weekly press conference said the coalition, A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), “stands in solidarity with the residents of Cane View, Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara, who are facing the vicious and unacceptable demolition of their homes by agents carrying out the will of the uncaring and vengeful PPP/C regime.”
According to Norton, the coalition categorically rejects the government’s assertion that these families must be relocated because they are in the way of the proposed Eccles to Great Diamond Highway. He pointed out that the “road will pass a significant distance from these properties, and the real motivation behind these demolitions appears to be racially motivated against the mainly Afro-Guyanese residents, as other villages on the path of the road have not been treated with this same malice. It is also clear that the PPP wants to allocate these lands to their elite, friends, families and favourites.”
Drawing contrast to treatment of other groups, Norton stated that “similar cases in PPP strongholds, people’s lands were not only regularised but in those cases where people had to move they were adequately compensated and had legal representation. This is true about those persons who were in the path of the Berbice Bridge.
“In Pigeon Island and Charity, two PPP strongholds, the government regularised squatters but now is seeking to move African Guyanese from their own lands under the pretext of promoting development. We repeat the people of Mocha are not preventing the progress of the road. Government’s action is clearly wicked and racist. We call on all fair-minded Guyanese to condemn the government’s action.”
Further, he stated, the next coalition government will not recognise the land titles of persons granted land confiscated by the PPP government along the East Bank Road link in the Mocha Arcadia area.
His full text follows: –
The government’s propaganda is seeking to place the people occupying ancestral lands at Mocha in the path of the new East Bank road. It must be made clear here that the people’s homes are not in the way of the road. The government’s propaganda is malicious and wicked.
We categorically reject the government’s assertion that these families must be relocated because they are in the way of the proposed Eccles to Great Diamond Highway. It is clear that this road will pass a significant distance from these properties, and the real motivation behind these demolitions appears to be racially motivated against the mainly Afro-Guyanese residents, as other villages on the path of the road have not been treated with this same malice. It is also clear that the PPP wants to allocate these lands to their elite, friends, families and favourites.
The people in Mocha reported that when President Irfaan Ali was Minister of Housing and Water he visited the area and allotted them the specific numbers for the lots they occupied. They further reported that he told them the only thing they will have to do is to place the front of their houses to face the road since at the time they were facing inward to Mocha. The President needs to explain his change of position on this matter.
It is necessary to point out here that the Ministry of Housing Plan places Cane View where the houses are, as part of Mocha Arcadia. Additionally, the records will reveal that GuySuco paid the Mocha Arcadia local authority for the use of those lands indicating therefore that they are ancestral lands.
Unfortunately, the government is seeking to paint the picture that these lands belong to the government. We reaffirm the view that these lands are the property of the people of Mocha Arcadia and therefore the residents cannot be considered squatters. People do not squat on their own lands.
It is noted that the government claims that it has made arrangements with twenty odd persons who have accepted the compensation. The approach used is unacceptable since it did not afford these residents the opportunity to have legal counsel. Many of them reported that they were bullied into accepting the government’s offer. When one looks at the offer made to them there is no indication that they have been compensated for being removed. In fact, the government merely is offering a new home to these persons without adequate compensation. This is unacceptable as it is noted that in the very near future, on the completion of the road, the value of these lands will be far more than what the government is offering. This approach is wicked and disempowers the people who have been occupying those lands for well over twenty-five years.
In similar cases in PPP strongholds, people’s lands were not only regularized but in those cases where people had to move they were adequately compensated and had legal representation. This is true about those persons who were in the path of the Berbice Bridge. In Pigeon Island and Charity, two PPP strongholds, the government regularized squatters but now is seeking to move African Guyanese from their own lands under the pretext of promoting development. We repeat the people of Mocha are not preventing the progress of the road. Government’s action is clearly wicked and racist. We call on all fair-minded Guyanese to condemn the government’s action.
The Opposition stands in solidarity with the residents of Cane View, MochaArcadia, East Bank Demerara, who are facing the vicious and unacceptable demolition of their homes by agents carrying out the will of the uncaring and vengeful PPP/C regime.
We challenge President Irfaan Ali to return to Mocha and listen to the concerns of these families, who have every right to stay on their ancestral lands and be treated with dignity and respect. The government has a moral obligation to engage these families, who deserve fair compensation for the loss of their homes and livelihoods, should they decide to leave.
We also strongly condemn the actions of the Ministry of Housing, the employees of which recently destroyed a bridge in the village. This is a blatant violation of the rights of these residents. The bridge must be rebuilt.
Residents who have decided to stay must be offered titles to their land, just as the residents of Pigeon Island who were recently granted titles to the lands on which they have been living for decades. The Mocha families deserve to be treated the same way and have their ownership recognized and not be treated as squatters on their own land.
We urge the government to immediately halt the demolition of homes in Mocha Arcadia and to engage in fair and constructive dialogue with the affected residents to find a fair and equitable solution.
The government could have avoided this ongoing conflict had it, from the inception, shown respect for the rights and concerns of the residents. The government could and should have held formal consultations with the residents and other community stakeholders to discuss the details of the planned roadway. Those consultations would have allowed residents and other stakeholders to ask questions, raise concerns, and get answers and information.
Instead, the PPP government chose to do nothing of the sort. True to form, it decided to display its arrogance and power drunkenness. The government chose to engage these families individually so that they can bully them and impose an unfair solution.
The next Coalition government will not recognize the land titles of persons granted land confiscated by the PPP government along the East Bank Road link in the Mocha Arcadia area. In addition, in future if these lands are to be distributed those people who occupied them should have first preference.
