From safe to evicted

WESTERN BUREAU:

A dispute over compensation has left a St James family scrambling for a new residence after receiving an eviction notice from the National Road Operating and Constructing Company Limited (NROCC).

Eurel Francis said that when he returned home one afternoon just over a week ago, he found several quit notices posted on his Salt Spring, St James property. Dated April 10, 2025, the notices gave Francis and his common-law wife 30 days to vacate. The eviction is part of a compulsory acquisition for the Montego Bay Perimeter Road project.

Francis explained that his issues with NROCC stem from a belief that the authority is not providing “fair compensation” for his property. His property includes a six-bedroom unfinished house sheltering 11 family members and a second incomplete building used as a wholesale, with plans for a hair salon and art studio.

NROCC offered J$44.32 million for both structures and the land, along with US$8,000 in rental assistance and transport grants. However, Francis told The Sunday Gleaner the funds are insufficient to “restart life”.

According to Francis, his adult sons and their spouses have invested in the property, so they will need to find a house big enough to accommodate everyone.

Francis requested J$300 million for the property and is also working to remove his late father’s name from the title.

“If the Government is doing the highway, I can’t fight against that because we need the road, but one of the things that I have an issue with is why they cannot see to it that the people are treated fairly,” said Francis.

“Mi figure seh dem would have said, ‘Mr Francis, you asked for X amount, but we can meet you along the way and see to it that you get a fair settlement’. Because this is just leaving us in stress and headache.”

According to the homeowner, he was previously informed that his property would not be needed for road development in 2021. He stated that he was concerned after seeing that his neighbours’ and brother’s properties had been acquired; nevertheless, he was reportedly told that his family’s land was safe. The Sunday Gleaner understands that this alleged reassurance was given to Francis by NROCC personnel.

“When they just started and did the first survey, my house wasn’t in the [path] of the highway. I questioned [the NROCC staff member] … and asked how the houses beside me have to move and the one behind me a go move. [He] said that I, my business, and my family were safe. We invested so much money in the house because we had plans for this property,” he said.

However, in 2024, Francis claimed he was eventually informed of plans to purchase his land after NROCC removed a pit latrine from an adjacent property, resulting in land slippage.

“The land just started to tear off. So, when it started to tear off, now they say, ‘Alright, Mr Francis, you have to move’. They said that they will give me $39 million for the whole thing, plus $4 million for the land.”

He continued, “Mi figure that it should have been a fair and transparent negotiation, so that the two parties should have been able to walk away feeling happy, not one party trying to bully the other party, so you can get the benefit of my things, without giving me proper compensation.”

Francis refused to accept NROCC’s offer of sale, but took the rental aid to transfer his family “to safety” in March 2024. He and his common-law wife, however, still live on the property. He further told The Sunday Gleaner that he was led to believe that additional compensation was coming to his family in the form of land in Irwin, St James, and more money to rebuild a house.

“They have been promising, but [we have] nothing in writing. Everything they say is on the phone. They said they’ll give me some land over Irwin. They say they’ll see to it that I get some more money while building the house, so I have money to pay the rent while building the house.

“But they promised all of these things verbally, so now it comes to the test, they tell me that I have to move out for the money that they offered me. They come with brute force and threats because the note that you read a while ago is a threat. So, if I do abide by that and take the money that they give to me, what’s going to happen next? It cannot settle me and my family,” he said on Friday.

“Because I can’t look at a house with three bedrooms, because where the rest of the people a guh live? Mi nuh see how mi can really find myself out of this without any stress. The four-month rent weh dem give we done from early last year,” Francis bemoaned.

Stephen Edwards, managing director at NROCC, told The Sunday Gleaner that the first notice was served in April 2020. Initially, only a section of Francis’s land was to be acquired, but a sewage pit compromised the slope’s integrity, requiring more land.

“The contractor made every effort to limit the amount of land that had to be acquired. However, due to the presence of a sewage pit that compromised the land’s integrity, additional land had to be acquired,” Edwards explained.

He confirmed that the land is unregistered but was valued by an independent assessor at J$44.32 million. Francis declined the offer, instead demanding J$300 million without providing supporting documents or rationale, the NROCC boss said.

“While Mr Francis declined the offer, he was encouraged on several occasions to obtain an independent valuation of his own, as is customary in such cases. NROCC even offered to pay for the valuation. Regrettably, he refused to do so,” Edwards said.

A formal hearing was held at the National Land Agency, resulting in an official compensation award in September 2024. Edwards noted that Francis was informed of his right to challenge the award in court but has not done so.

Responding to claims that NROCC promised land for relocation, Edwards said they tried to help Francis find nearby land he could buy with the compensation. However, the offer was rejected.

Furthermore, Edwards explained that NROCC was forced to utilise a formal notice to quit due to Francis’ refusal to vacate the premises. He said that the awarded compensation will be given to the family once this is done.

In the meantime, the homeowner confirmed that he was told to have an independent valuation done on his property, but at his own expense. However, he told The Sunday Gleaner that he was “unable” to find a valuator to take on the job.

“[They never told me] that NROCC would have paid for it. He said that I should get an independent valuation done, but I told them that I couldn’t get one because nobody seems to want to go up against the Government. Nobody wanted to take the job. I even paid a deposit and was called back for it,” said Francis.

Francis also corroborated Edwards’ statement about the formal hearing, which he attended, but he maintained that his family thought the matter could have been settled outside of the courts.

As the quit notice’s deadline approaches, Edwards told The Sunday Gleaner that Francis accepted the compensation award last Tuesday.

“Mr Francis wrote to NROCC this afternoon accepting the award for compensation. We look forward to finalising the paperwork for the transaction and making the payment in the amount that was offered in the Commissioner of Lands’ award,” Edwards said in an email.

Francis, however, says he still believes that his family was treated unfairly by the authorities.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com