PM Promises Help For Displaced Coopers Pen Residents | RJR News
Amid growing backlash against his administration, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness on Friday visited Coopers Pen in Trelawny, where several homes were demolished on August 11, and made it clear to the residents that he cannot keep them on the privately owned land.
He told the affected residents that he was seeking sustainable alternatives, including relocating them.
Prime Minister Holness said he was saddened by the incident and had moved quickly to prevent a humanitarian crisis. He said his visit was to get a first-hand view of the scale of the damage and to speak directly with those affected.
However, he cautioned the residents against expecting false assurances.
Dr. Holness told the residents that he does not have the powers to keep them on the property, so the conversation should move to relocation.
“We have identified certain acreages of land which are in close proximity to this area. There is another possibility which is further away, but in my opinion it is still within the parish and therefore we could consider to be in proximity. I don’t believe we can accommodate all the legitimate claims that are here – when I say legitimate, meaning persons who were acknowledged as squatters on the land prior to the court action and the orders – and therefore we may have to go to the farther location…if we are not able to accommodate everyone on the first proposed area,” he told the gathering.
“To get this done, we have to conduct a social survey, and the social survey is already underway. The Ministry of Housing has been here for three days and they are going around. They have interviewed 70 per cent, I believe, of the persons who are on the land and they will continue until they have interviewed everyone,” he added.
Prime Minister Holness, who is the Minister of Housing, said the government will provide financial assistance to legitimate residents during the relocation exercise.
“The government couldn’t take up public taxpayers’ money and pay for damage caused by a private action. However, in the process of relocation, it is our intention to provide the legitimate beneficiaries with a relocation grant. It might sound that there is really no distinction, but there is a very important legal distinction because we don’t want to set a precedent that the government is going to be liable for damage caused by a private action of a third party.”
He said the relocation grant would help the residents rebuild and reacquire their damaged household items.
Still, Dr. Holness urged the residents of Coopers Pen to ensure that scammers do not hijack the relocation exercise. He told the residents that he is hoping the relocation exercise will commence in December.
At the same time, the Prime Minister also criticised the parliamentary opposition, accusing it of using the controversy to give false hope to the residents that they can remain on the property.
The People’s National Party (PNP) has consistently called for the government to invoke Section 4 of the Local Improvement (Communities Amenities) Act as was done at Red Hills Road in 2016 to protect the remaining homes that Coopers Pen and to provide the displaced with dignified, lasting housing solutions on the disputed property.
But Prime Minister Holness made it clear that his government does not support squatting.
“My administration, the Jamaica Labour Party, does not support the illegal and informal settlement of land. We don’t encourage it. We do not come to you and say, ‘See that piece of land, go and occupy it and then afterwards do what is necessary so you can get.’ We don’t do that. And there’s a reason for that,” he said, calling it “the greatest trick that has been played upon the Jamaican population”.
“Ultimately, you are saying to people, go and sit and occupy a piece of land for which one day I am going to make you a property owner. And when you then become a property owner, you are going to want your property rights protected. The fact is that you are also a victim of history and a victim of bad government policy. My commitment, as someone born post-independence, is not to make the same mistakes. And I see leaders proposing the same things over and over again,” he argued, insisting it was “the highest level of hypocrisy and trickery of the people”.
Dr. Holness said the authorities are investigating reports that scammers have moved into the Coopers Pen community in order to gain state benefits.
“What has come to my attention is that there are persons moving into the area, displacing people who were here on the basis that they are going to claim whatever solutions are going to be given to you. In other words, they are ones trying to displace you of your uncertain property rights. We are not going to allow that to happen. And what is worse is that there are politicians who have told people to do this. Listen to it carefully. The same politicians who told you to come and occupy the land are telling other people who were not on the land to come and occupy the land and displace you, and they are here listening. Well, I am being clear, we will not allow anyone to chop any line in Jamaica,” he declared.