By Adrian Frater, Staff Reporter
Western Bureau:
THE URBAN Development Corporation (UDC) is claiming "mission accomplished" in the eviction exercise it carried out on Thursday against squatters, who had ignored last November's warnings not to build any new houses on the 474-acre Barrett Hall property, in St. James.
"Prime Minister P.J. Patterson warned them not to build any new house in a town meeting last November, but they ignored the warning," said Lorna Clarke, the UDC's communication manager. "After giving them adequate notice, we went in and did what we set out to do."
Some of the squatters, who watched helplessly as property rangers destroyed their homes on Thursday, are contending that contrary to the UDC's claim, the Prime Minister betrayed them. According to them, Mr. Patterson had promised them that, "none of your houses will be touched."
"In keeping with the Prime Minister's promise to the residents, none of the houses that were constructed before November were destroyed," said Ms. Clarke. "We did not carry out a wholesale demolition of homes, we only demolished those houses that were constructed after November."
According to Ms. Clarke, the property is being developed jointly by the Ministry of Water and Housing and the UDC to facilitate those persons who had taken up residence at Barrett Hall before the November. She added that roadway had been clear, sewer lines put in and lots surveyed.
"We cannot sanction unplanned development on the land," said Ms. Clarke. "The unauthorised development was impeding the progress of the development plan for the area and the UDC had no other alternative but to take drastic action to remove those structures which are in violation of the development plan."
Following Thursday's demolition exercise, some of the affected squatters described the action as, "disgraceful and an attack on poor people." Others claimed that they were making payments to unidentified government officials and, as consequence, should not have been bulldozed.
Reacting to the squatters claim that some of them were making payments for the lands they occupied, Edmund Bartlett, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) caretaker for the area, said he was disturbed by the allegations and called for a full investigation of the matter.
