Golding rejects claims linking him, Bunting to Coopers Pen land
TRELAWNY, Jamaica — Opposition Leader Mark Golding has rejected claims that he and Opposition spokesman on national security Peter Bunting have any direct or indirect interest in the property in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, where 20 homes were demolished at the order of the owner, who is seeking to repossess the land.
Golding made the denial during a tour of the community on Thursday, where he met with residents who were displaced following the demolition exercise.
“There have been some scurrilous false allegations being spread by the JLP bloggers and trolls about the ownership of this land,” Golding said.
“For the record, I have no direct or indirect interest in this land. Neither does Peter Bunting. Neither does Proven,” he added.
Golding said he had never visited the property before the recent controversy and was now seeking to understand its history and the circumstances surrounding the demolitions.
“I’ve never been to this piece of land before. I know nothing about it, and I’m trying to get to the bottom of it now,” he said.
Golding’s was speaking amid renewed scrutiny of the ownership of the Coopers Pen property and allegations circulating online seeking to link the Opposition figures to the land.
According to Golding, the property has a long history and has been owned by New Falmouth Holdings since the 1960s.
He argued that some of the residents who have occupied the land for many years may have acquired rights through long-standing adverse possession, and questioned why those rights had not been protected.
“Some of the people have been here for many, many years. They should have acquired rights by virtue of their long-standing adverse possession. I don’t know how those rights have not been protected,” Golding said.
He called on the Government to intervene urgently to find a solution for the affected residents.
Golding said those whose homes had been destroyed should be resettled on suitable land “in dignity and in comfort”, while the Government should also negotiate with the property owners to protect residents whose homes remain standing but are threatened by the same process.
“The government must really step in and find a solution for the people,” he said.
“Those who have lost their homes obviously will need to be resettled on land, as I’ve said, in dignity and in comfort. And the government must get on that case immediately,” he added.
Golding also urged the authorities to address the situation facing residents whose homes were not demolished but remain at risk.
“And then those homes which have not been destroyed, but are imperiled and are threatened by the same process that took place yesterday [Tuesday] the government must step in and negotiate with the owners and solve that matter as well,” he said.
