Squatting in Jamaica has become a cancer that is sucking the blood out of the affected communities and will eventually cause those communities, and by extension the country, to implode.

Whereas one can have empathy for the landless and have an appreciation for the historical antecedence, squatting cannot be the answer. The solution to the landless problem is land reform, a policy that seems to have escaped all governments since emancipation.

To be fair, the Michael Manley government of the 1970s attempted but achieved limited success with land reform policies. Since the 1980s, both the Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party have failed to articulate a land reform policy much less attempted to implement one. In fact, the land reform policies of Michael Manley were replaced with a "squatter policy", a policy that accepts the existence of the squatters, and, in some cases, encourages it, then attempts to "regularise" the situation. There is even a squatter management office with an allocation from the Budget. This policy has led to Flankers in Montego Bay and more than ten squatter communities in North East St Ann alone.

All administrations since 1980 have turned a blind eye to squatting. Some members of parliament even defend the "squatters' rights" to stay on the land. The Government, under P.J. Patterson, made valiant attempts to address the problem with programmes such as Operation Pride, and by providing increased housing solutions via the National Housing Trust and the National Housing Development Corporation. However, both of these programmes were not rooted in a comprehensive land reform policy and, as such, their efforts had little impact in solving the problem. The Bruce Golding 19-month-old administration has not yet made a definitive statement on land reform.

A pool of voters

Instead of comprehensive land reform, over the years, politicians have discovered a pool of voters that can be manipulated to deliver votes on election day. Squatters are generally quite vulnerable, exposed to the elements, have little or no income base, no basic infrastructure, despised by their neighbours, and generally of low esteem. Politicians have preyed on these defenceless people with offers of zinc, sheets of ply board, chickens, and all manner of handouts in exchange for their votes.

This is not only short-sighted but unsustainable, and in addition, as we can now attest to, the criminal enterprise has replaced the politicians in many of these communities. Is it any surprise that we have gone from some 316 squatter communities in 2006 to over 900 in 2009? Going in tandem is the growth of criminal gangs; we have gone from 12 recognised criminal gangs to over 150 in the same period.

Example

We can all recall the struggle of landowners in the '80s and '90s to remove squatters from their land. St James comes readily to mind. Today, most of those lands, which are very strategically located, are in the hands of criminal gangs, and the trend continues.

One must also be fair to politicians, in general, and say that not all practice or endorse 'squatter management'. One politician, in particular, must be commended for the brave and principled stance he took when squatters started to move into North East St Ann - Member of Parliament Manley Bowen ('89-97), frustrated into retiring from politics after trying desperately to stop the squatter invasion of his constituency.

One cannot say the same for the current member of parliament, Shahine Robinson, who seemingly has given tacit support to the uncontrollable growth of squatter settlements in the constituency. The population of North East St Ann is the fastest growing of all constituencies. The voters list has ballooned from 17,000 in 1993 to over 36,000 currently, an increase which is more than three times the national average for a constituency. Not all, but a significant portion of this growth is due to squatting. Given that the support from the MP is not sustainable, it won't be long before North East St Ann becomes as crime-infested as Montego Bay.

The time to draw the line is now; the government needs to implement a holistic and comprehensive land reform policy whereby land can be distributed to the landless in a strategic manner.

Pressure the government

The country has acres and acres of undeveloped and non-productive land that can be populated and put to productive use if only our Government had the will to do so. The time has come for the private sector and property owners to use their tremendous influence and pressure the Government to stop this cancer that is growing at an uncontrollable pace.

The time has come to remove the incentive for politicians to support squatting. No one should be allowed to register to vote from lands on which they are squatting. Now before anyone gets the notion that I am advocating the disenfranchisement of squatters, let me hasten to say that most, if not all squatters have an original place of abode and, therefore, they should be allowed to vote from whence they came. Squatting is generally motivated by economic survival or threat to life. By not registering squatters to vote, the incentive to burn out residents or encourage people to illegally take up residence will be eliminated.

Michael Ennis, is a telecommunication and information systems consultant and businessman. Feedback: mail2michaelennis@gmail.com