THE MINISTRY of Water and Housing has extended the seven-day notice given to informal settlers occupying Government lands at the Mammee Bay South development in St. Ann to August 15.
This is an apparent response to public outcry over its approach to dealing with squatters, but the Ministry remained adamant yesterday that squatting on Government-owned lands would not be tolerated.
According to Water and Housing Minister, Dr. Karl Blythe, the Ministry had given adequate notice that the 12-acre property at Mammee Bay was slated for commercial development. It said there would be no deviation from this approach.
Apart from the extended deadline, which was agreed upon after a meeting with the Member of Parliament for the area, Danny Melville, officers from the Ministry will next week meet with the squatters to "discuss alternative arrangements." Allotments in the Mammee Bay Operation PRIDE site and other Operation PRIDE schemes will be made available. However, no such arrangement will be made for those persons already assigned lots in the residential section of the development.
Proper arrangements will also be made for any indigent persons occupying the site, and first preference will be given to Mammee Bay's commercial squatters as soon as commercial lots become available in the Operation PRIDE development.
Earlier this month, Dr. Blythe warned that the his Ministry would proceed to demolish squatter settlements on lands owned by the Ministry. The Mammee Bay site was singled out as one where the squatters would be evicted and their dwellings demolished. "Squatting must come to an end. It's time for me to put the brakes on this kind of development, even though it's painful, even though there may be some resistance, they will have to be relocated," said the Minister then.
