Gov’t to reclaim Kgn gullies

The Government is moving to reclaim gullies across Kingston, with a pilot programme targeting four high-risk communities for the relocation of residents living along vulnerable waterways, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has announced.

Speaking at the official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for Kingston 2 (K2) in east Kingston yesterday, Holness said the Government, through the National Works Agency (NWA), would begin enforcing the lawful 20-foot reservation buffer zones bordering gullies.

The initiative is intended to protect families living on or too close to the waterways from the potentially catastrophic effects of severe weather events.

Acknowledging that relocation can cause trauma and disruption, Holness sought to reassure residents of vulnerable, predominantly inner-city communities that the Government would assist them in transitioning to safer locations.

“Every time it rains in any serious way, a part of the culvert or the invert is compromised. There can be a weather event that has catastrophic consequences. Some people don’t get it, others do,” Holness argued.

“We are testing out a programme now where we have said to the NWA that we’re going to reclaim the gullies in Kingston, reclaim the reservations 20 feet away from the gullies.

“Now, whenever I speak like this, immediately everybody starts to worry, why is the Government going to come throw me off? That’s not what the Government wants to do. This is a democratic country. And yes, the Government has a right in law to, for the public good because it can only be exercised for the public good, to have persons relocated,” he said.

Holness stressed, however, that any relocation exercise must benefit the people affected and should not leave them worse off.

He said the Government would engage residents in dialogue to address deep-seated mistrust of the State among some communities.

As an example, he pointed to St Paul’s Lane in St Andrew West Central, where he is the parliamentary representative, saying residents had been successfully relocated from vulnerable areas.

“I have demonstrated to the people there how the Government can effectively do a relocation and resettlement exercise, which we did in a community called St Paul’s Lane with 32 houses, and the people there are quite comfortable… . Whatever we do, it must be with dialogue,” said Holness.

The prime minister said four communities across the Corporate Area would be selected for the pilot, which will focus on relocating people living along gully banks, “particularly those that are at risk of an epiphenomenal weather event”.

He said the Government might construct new housing for affected residents or provide grants to help them make alternative arrangements.

“But we cannot continue this unsafe practice of persons living on the gully banks. That must come to an end. As well as, we will launch a major project to support the lawful and proper settlement of communities that are irregularly settled at the moment. We are looking at a few of those communities now, and very shortly you will hear more about what we plan to do for those communities,” he said.

Holness also said the Government was holding similar discussions with residents of Coopers Pen, Trelawny, whose houses, illegally constructed on private land, were demolished several weeks ago.

“The Government wants you to have a dignified and seamless relocation. So, we will provide relocation grants to the people of Cooper’s Pen who qualify. These grants are not compensatory grants for damage to property that was unlawfully placed on private or public land.

“The Government couldn’t take up taxpayers’ money to compensate someone for an act that was unlawful in the first place. So, what we will do, however, which I think all Jamaicans would agree with, is that we should assist with the relocation exercise, assist the residents to be able to move to another location. So, we will provide the residents there with a relocation grant,” he said.

Holness added that residents who qualify would receive special access to land identified nearby, but cautioned that the land would not be provided free of charge.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com