‘Devastating’ demolition

COOPERS PEN, Trelawny — Member of Parliament for Trelawny Northern Tova Hamilton has promised to work towards a long-term solution for the long-running land dispute that led to Tuesday’s demolition of 20 houses in the Coopers Pen section of this parish. She has also vowed to find out which private company or individual gave the order for the houses to be razed. The land is privately owned but residents who have lived there for years insist they have a legal claim.

“All I can say is this is devastating. I must, however, indicate that this is private sector-led. I know that there is a lot of misinformation out there indicating that the Government has something to do with it, but we have nothing at all to do with what happened there today,” the MP insisted as she spoke among the rubble of houses once occupied by scores of residents now left homeless by the early-morning demolition.

“We’re trying to get to the bottom of it to see who initiated this. I have already reached out to the prime minister [Andrew Holness, under whose Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation the housing portfolio falls] to see how best we can have the Government try to resolve the issue on behalf of the people,” Hamilton added. Trelawny Northern Member of Parliament Tova Hamilton (left) listens to residents of Coopers Pen, Trelawny, where 20 houses were demolished Tuesday morning.

(Photo: Horace Hines) She said the Government had been exploring ways to help residents but with the demolition the matter is now urgent. According to the MP, the issue was before the courts and “there was a caveat lodged on the title in favour of the Minister of Housing because there is an equitable interest”. She said regularising residents could be considered, but there is a process that has to be followed with steps including land acquisition.

“The only thing I can recommend is that they probably try and stay with family members in the interim. We can’t do anything in the short term to assist, but I know that I will ensure that we resolve this land issue once and for all, because the people can’t live like this. This is impossible, and there have been people living on this land for more than 60 years,” she bemoaned.

Councillor Garth Wilkinson (People’s National Party, Falmouth Division), who described the demolition as inhumane, questioned why residents were being removed more than a decade after legal…