On February 8, 2023, International lawyer Dr. Vivian Williams and Lyndon Amsterdam served notice on Minister of Housing and Water, Colin Croal and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall SC, that they have been retained by the aggrieved residents of Caneview/Mocha and are instructed to pursue a just resolution of their grievance.
The lawyers, who are representing Candacie Williams, Roxanne Allen, Lashonda Ellis, Joyann Ellis, have given the government seven days to initiate settlement talks. The deadline for government to signal its intention to pursue an out of court settlement will expire on February 15, 2023.
On or about January 5 last the Ministry of Housing, with support from the Guyana Police Force, moved into the community with heavy duty vehicles into the area and destroyed persons’ homes, businesses, livestock, crops, motor vehicles claiming the residents were in the pathway where a new road is to be passed. The claim is not borne out in truth, evident from photographs released that show where the road will pass and where the residents lives.
Persons have loss millions and families, including children, have been traumatised. One mother was heard sharing her grief about her child’s eyeglasses destroyed by the government’s action. She said her child was crying as a result of headaches she was suffering not having the use of her glasses and unable to complete her schoolwork.
Officials from the Ministry of Education subsequently visited the area to inquire about the children’s attendance. However, the government which has a Social Service department has not sent social workers to the area to help persons deal with the trauma and other bio-psychosocial challenges resulting from the incident.
Dr. William said “The government erred in the way it handled this matter. The resort to the use of the coercive arms of the state was precipitate and without legal basis.” He however added that it is useful to give the government an opportunity to resolve the issue just before resorting to litigation.
In their letter, the lawyers stressed that the affected residents have numerous meritorious claims arising from the acts and or omissions of employees and or agents of the Ministry of Housing.
They advised notices were sent on behalf of Lashonda Ellis, Joyann Ellis, Roxanne Allen, Mark Gordon, and Candacie Williams and retention of other affected residents is being finalised.
Cane View is a community that sprang up in the later part of the 1990s without objection from the government. The affected residents occupied the plots of lands for decades and expended significant sums to build properties and engage in other economic activities after being encouraged to do so by the government.
The affected residents and their lawyers are hoping that the government will act in good faith and initiate settlement talks without delay. The distressed residents are receiving support from the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana (IDPADA-G).
