By L. K. Hewlett
St. Kitts Reporter
A recent announcement that government is taking steps to evict people squatting on cane lands has been met with mixed reactions.
The department of physical planning revealed that a decision had been made to take action against persons who are illegally occupying cane lands.
Reports from the ministry of physical planning indicate that a number of persons ‘have taken the opportunity of the cessation on the sugar industry to construct houses and other structures on illegally held land as well as to use the land for other unauthorised purposes’.
A release coming out of that department states that the Director of Physical Planning Ellis Hazel has indicated that the problem has escalated to such proportions that his ministry’s vigilance has had to increase accordingly. The statement went on to say that the security forces will take active measures to bring an end to such acts.
The Observer attempted to contact Hazel only to be told that he was on vacation after which the person acting in his capacity declined to comment on the matter. He would only say that he had just been informed of the decision and did not feel comfortable giving any comment until he had more information and had held discussions with relevant persons in authority.
According to the release, persons who are guilty of squatting are being granted a grace period of two weeks to remove their structures from the cane land or action will be taken by the government to have them removed.
The junior minister in the ministry of sustainable development was not available for comment on just exactly what kind of action would be taken against the squatters and on what date the grace period became effective.
One man living in a concrete structure on land which he claims his family had been occupying for many years said that the decision was not fair to those who had built ‘wall houses’.
“This house was built long ago and it never interfere with they sugar industry when it was going strong. How come only now it is a problem? The government should make special arrangements for people who have wall house because we can’t move them like people who have board house,” the man said. He also suggested that government make the land already occupied available at cheap rates to those living there.
Other persons commented that it was sad that such measures had to be taken especially since most of the squatters were former sugar workers and did not have the means to purchase the lands. A government official said that persons who wanted to acquire land for construction of homes and other purposes should contact the ministry of agriculture, land and housing and follow the normal procedure. He said that if the government turned a blind eye to the problem, then anyone could ignore the laws of the country and start to build on any land without purchasing it.
