MoBay mayor says StJMC will uphold law on squatting

WESTERN BUREAU:

The St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) has committed to utilising existing laws to govern its handling of squatting in the parish even as it awaits the release of the National Squatter Management Policy, which the Government is developing.

Addressing Thursday’s monthly meeting of the StJMC, Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon said there was a culture of hypocrisy surrounding the condoning of illegality, which must be nipped in the bud, including aspiring homeowners and property owners constructing buildings on land without the appropriate permits.

“The Government is working on a squatter management policy, which our cooperation will play a critical role in, and we are just now waiting on the next update on the policy so that we can manage that situation. It is unfortunate when persons invest their life savings and then have to be relocated. But at the same time, there is a rule of law which we must respect,” he said.

“It has been hinted at about some level of hypocrisy that exists where illegality is concerned because there are those who facilitate it, and then on the next hand, they will say it is not supposed to be done. We are going to move towards addressing these challenges, to include the settlement challenges, the sidewalk garage challenges, persons who are building on drains, and illegal buildings that are in the structured communities,” he added.

Vernon was responding to a call from Kerry Thomas, councillor for the Mt Salem Division, who had issued a call for the corporation to address squatter settlements in the parish.

In making that call, Thomas cited the recent demolition of 20 houses in the Coopers Pen community in Trelawny, where residents had been living on the land for decades without legal ownership.

“The Coopers Pen situation is not something that is unique because we here in St James have more than one informal settlement where people reside,” said Thomas. “Municipal corporations in general, who are responsible for approving building permits and so forth right throughout the island, have a responsibility to ensure that when structures are going up illegally, we stop them early before they reach too far, to full construction, and then it becomes a big loss for those involved in it.

PROTECTING CITIZENS

“With our responsibility, we will protect some of our unsuspecting citizens and residents who might go and purchase a piece of land from somebody and decide to set up a structure, and then they ultimately end up losing everything,” added Thomas.

Following the controversy arising from the Coopers Pen demolition exercise, which took place on August 11, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced that the Government would develop a programme to address irregularly settled communities in an effort to prevent further land squatting.

Before that, it was reported in December 2021 that the second draft of the National Squatter Management Policy would be submitted to Cabinet by the end of January 2022, along with the implementation plan and budget.

Meanwhile, speaking on the sometimes troublesome issue of traffic management in St James, Vernon said enforcement of the law would continue despite complaints that the removal of roadside garages is affecting the operators’ right to earn a living.

“The police reached out to me earlier this week to say that they have a challenge with traffic because of how persons are using the sidewalks to operate illegal garages, but when we go out there and we start removing them, there are those who are going to say we should leave them alone, that we are boxing food out of poor people’s mouths,” said Vernon.

“We have to take the necessary measures to free up these spaces, to ensure that vehicles can move, and that means movement of goods and services and economic growth.”

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com