HUMANITARIAN APPROACH

Because the demolishing of squatters’ homes on State lands is an emotive issue, Government should have a Public Relations programme in place particularly with respect to the breaking down of these homes in areas designated for publicly funded housing projects. Every effort should be made to relocate squatters who have been living in the areas for a pre-determined period, and where feasible nearby existing decanting centres should be made available to house those squatters, who are to be relocated. They should be given a grace period to rebuild in the areas allocated to them as well as to vacate the decanting centres. Where there are no decanting centres within a reasonable distance from where the squatters live then consideration should be given by the Ministry of Housing to the construction of such centres.

A minimum period of residence should be established to determine who would qualify for relocation and access to accommodation at decanting centres. In turn, there should be no grace period for persons who erected structures on Government land after the Ministry of Housing’s announcement last year of plans to construct low cost housing, or that of the Ministry of Agriculture to close down Caroni (1975) Limited. It is clearly not enough for the Ministry of Housing merely to order the demolition of homes of Trinidad and Tobago nationals, who have been living in them for a long period, regardless of the legal authority to do so. Instead of an unbending attitude there should be a humanitarian approach. There is no question that squatting has to be contained and, if possible, eliminated. Part of the problem, however, lies in the decision of many under employed nationals to live as close as possible to urban centres. This been compounded by the presence of illegal immigrants, whether from St Vincent, Guyana and Grenada  who are encouraged, all too often by other illegal immigrants, to put up unauthorised structures on State as well as privately owned land.

In addition to the standard approach to squatting, signs should be erected in areas where public low cost housing is to be built stating intent to demolish and when. These should be in addition to public notices published in the Media detailing plans to develop the areas for low cost housing. In turn, preference should be given to persons who have been occupying the lands for several years, are nationals and/or are legally established residents of Trinidad and Tobago and have applied to the National Housing Authority for a house or apartment. Undoubtedly, squatting, whether on lands earmarked for publicly funded housing or in other areas should be discouraged. Squatters have been known, for example, to slash and burn areas on hillsides to erect housing which ultimately cause soil erosion during the rainy season and flooding in low lying areas.

There is the health aspect, where because of the close proximity of the unplanned squatters’ homes, adequate drainage becomes a problem. In turn, a fire hazard can be posed, and should a fire break out the all too often narrow alleyways prevent ready access by the fire services. But even as existing squatter settlements have to be removed, or with regularisation modified to conform to existing housing, health and other regulations, particularly where the structures have existed for several years, Government should pursue a Public Relations as well as humanitarian approach.