‘No compromise’

WESTERN BUREAU:

PRIME MINISTER Andrew Holness has cautioned that disorderly possession of properties is not the proper channel to land ownership as settlement issues from the days of slavery continue to plague the orderly development of Westmoreland.

He made that declaration on Thursday, a day after angry residents doused heavy equipment with gasolene and threatened to light it after a demolition crew turned up to evict them from lands being disputed at Little Bay in the parish.

The battle for the property has been raging for decades and saw one of the proprietors, John Eugster, being murdered in 2004 after trying to reclaim lands.

Tempers flared on Wednesday in the latest round of an eviction attempt, as more than 100 residents staged a protest objecting to efforts to demolish their homes.

Holness, speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Little London Police Station, told the angry land occupants – who contend that they have a right to the property through adverse possession, having captured and lived on it for decades – that a process will have to be worked out.

“The solution to the issue of land settlement is not going to be the violation of property rights. Property rights protect all of us because even if you were to acquire your property through adverse means, you are also going to want the protection of the court from others who would want to acquire your land by adverse means,” Holness said.

“I have to be very clear, this Government will never allow property rights to be compromised,” he insisted.

Court battle

The residents have been battling in court with Eugster’s widow, Kathleen, a United States citizen, for control of sections of the 867-acre property.

Notwithstanding a 2011 court decision granting writs of possession and the eviction of at least 27 settlers, Eugster has been unable to regain possession, which is reportedly earmarked for a US$5-billion investment.

“Disorderly settlement must never be countenanced, because all it means in a disorderly settlement is that those who are politically connected, those who know people, and those who know badman and can use force, they are the ones who are going to get the land and the average person will only be able to look on and not be a part of it,” Holness cautioned.

In an impromptu meeting with members of the Little Bay Citizens’ Association, Holness promised to take a deeper look into their land issue with a view of, where possible, relocating those affected to state-owned lands in the area, through the National Housing Trust.

He said that a previous effort by the Government to purchase a section of the disputed land has hit a snag as the asking price, which he did not reveal, was – and still remains – too high.

Holness said that the Government will be building houses on Crown lands to ease the housing crisis in the parish and help to bring an end to the vexed issue of land settlement.

In his earlier presentation, the prime minister warned against any form of new wholesale squatting, with the hope of being considered for benefits.

“I have asked the Sugar Company of Jamaica, the National Land Agency and other agencies that have land in the area to give me a full profile of the lands that are there and we are going to develop them for housing,” Holness said.

“Don’t bother moving on to any lands, let me tell you from now,” he warned. “Don’t bother believing that if you do, we are going to acknowledge you. We have the satellite images, we have sent up the drone. We know who was there, when, why and how.”

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com