Concerned residents of the Fire Trail Road east area in New Providence say they are determined to remain on the land where they are in spite of yet another notice from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Housing advising them that they must vacate the premises immediately.
Meeting with the press Saturday morning on the site of a road that appears to still be under construction in that area, attorney and former deputy leader of the Free National Movement Sidney Collie said the most recent attempt by the government to have the residents removed was unfair.
Mr. Collie, who hopes to win the FNMﾒs nomination as the candidate for the Blue Hills constituency ﾖ of which the area is currently a part ﾖ in the upcoming general election, also advised the residents not to leave the land.
According to Mr. Collie, approximately 200 residents and 60 houses would be affected by the governmentﾒs eviction plans.
“[The residents] have had a number of meetings with both the former and current ministers of housing,” he said.
“They have received a number of letters, at least five, telling them that they had to leave and then there were meetings telling them that they didnﾒt have to leave. Now they have been told that they have to leave by Friday the 21st of July or their property will be demolished. Where are these people going to go?ﾒ he asked.
Continuing his fight on behalf of the residents ﾖ whom he acknowledged are squatters ﾖ Mr. Collie said some residents have lived on the land in question for over 30 years; most, he said, have lived on the land for over 10 years.
He also claimed that Minister of Youth, Sports and Housing Neville Wisdom in a press release dated April 6, 2006 stated that the government is a “caring” government and would find a way to ensure that the squatters are able to maintain the land on which they live.
“Just on the side of this community are a number of completed low-cost government houses which are presently unoccupied,” Mr. Collie said.
“These people would be quite content to make arrangements with the government to occupy any of those low-cost houses. They are also prepared to pay for any of the upgrades that the government is saying has to be done in order [for them to obtain an occupancy certificate and] maintain their property.”
Mr. Collie further claimed that if the government truly is caring it would work with the residents and find a way to ensure that they are able to remain on the land where they now live.
Calling on the government to ensure that this happens, Mr. Collie pointed out, however, that the residents do not intend to attempt any legal action as part of their efforts to remain on the land.
He noted that he has not been retained as a lawyer for the residents, but nevertheless pointed out that the residents who have remained on the land for 12 years or more can claim some form of title to the land.
“They can in fact go to the Supreme Court in a petition under the quieting of titles to quiet this land,” Mr. Collie said.
“They are now owners of the land by adverse possession.”
When asked why the residents have not taken that action Mr. Collie said the reason was because they have chosen instead to work with the government.
One resident who said she has documentary title to the land on which she resides said she too is determined to stay on the land.
“We purchased this property, but the person died in 2002,” Anna Mae Rolle said.
“I also have an approved plan by the Ministry of Works and an occupancy certificate to stay on the property which shows that the house meets The Bahamas building code.”
Over the weekend, Minister Wisdom denied claims that the government has treated the squatters unfairly.
He countered, claiming that some of those residents have acted unreasonably.
“Many of the people who were breaking the law by squatting have understood and have responded positively to the request to move,” he said in an interview with the Bahama Journal.
“There are some people who have decided that they are going to entrench themselves and in some instances even want two or three pieces of property. This island is very small and we have to continue as best we can to build homes for Bahamians. There are just too many families waiting out there for homes for us to just disregard a whole subdivision or the completion of a subdivision because some people went and squatted on government land.”
Mr. Wisdom also rejected the claims that the government told the squatters that they could remain on the land then changed its position.
“A number of options were provided depending on the position that the squatter may have found him or herself in,” he said.
“For example, if you had a structure that was not in the way of progress of development and we could have assisted by ensuring that we made the necessary hookups and connections (with the public utilities) then you would have been accommodated.”
He said in the case of residents whose property was impeding development of the governmentﾒs subdivision officials had no choice but to ask the residents to move.
By: Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
