Conservancy Dam squatters pose no threat – probe finds

Housing Minister Collin Croal has said the Government has no plans to relocate more than a dozen families residing along the Conservancy Dam in Canal Number One Polder, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
In a report by the Department of Public Information (DPI), it was stated that the Minister said that the families have been there for decades and a recent assessment revealed that their presence did not affect the integrity of the dam, nor were they in imminent danger.
He made the announcement at the 15th sitting of the National Assembly on Monday in response to questions posed by Opposition Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan. Duncan asked why provisions were being made for the Conservancy Dam squatters if they were living there illegally.
Croal said that the residents were “not directly on the Conservancy, it is on the east of the Conservancy and it is not directly affecting the Conservancy and the dam of the Conservancy”.
“The Ministry of Public Works as well as the Central Housing and Planning [Authority] team visited that area and have already identified that the area is not affected by those persons,” Croal is quoted as saying.
Croal and Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, in late August, had visited the community to conduct assessments, following an earlier visit by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
Subsequently, provisions were made to provide some residents with first-time access to potable water and electricity from the utility companies.
Moreover, Croal said the Government was actively working on a relocation plan for squatters in Success, East Coast Demerara (ECD), who are on lands owned by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). The Minister made this statement in response to MP Duncan’s queries about the provisions for these squatters.
Squatters began occupying the land some months back, which resulted in thousands of cane varieties being destroyed and the potential loss of billions of dollars in earnings. GuySuCo has been seeking the removal of the squatters to utilise its land as the Government seeks to revitalise the sugar sector.
The Minister also said that the Broad and Lombard Streets squatters’ relocation programme is continuing. A $36 million relocation and resettlement project saw 20 families receiving keys to new homes in Prospect, EBD in February. The project was funded by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and Food For The Poor Guyana. The remaining 31 families are expected to be given houses in Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara.