COOPERS PEN, Trelawny — Opposition Leader Mark Golding is calling for an inquiry into how court-protected private land rights are imposed against unprotected communities, following Tuesday morning’s demolition of 20 houses in Coopers Pen, Trelawny.

He was among a number of Comrades, each with an opinion to express, who on Thursday toured the community where displaced residents now live under tents and other temporary arrangements.

The People’s National Party (PNP) president said the situation requires immediate Government intervention. He argued that while private property rights must be respected, the State also has a duty to be there for those in need of protection.

“The third point I want to make is a policy issue, and it relates to how private rights, as protected by the court, are enforced against vulnerable communities. There needs to be a mechanism to ensure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen,” Golding said.

“There needs to be a proper inquiry into this, with a policy that balances the rights of our citizens: protects private property rights, but also protects the rights of the people who are vulnerable and who the State is there to protect,” he added.

He said similar demolitions had occurred in Clifton, St Catherine; Pleasant Hill in Lluidas Vale; and Albion in St Thomas, and urged an inquiry into the wider process of land rights enforcement.

Golding described the situation in Coopers Pen as a humanitarian crisis and called for urgent action to secure permanent housing for the affected families.

“What has happened here is a calamity, a humanitarian calamity. The first priority must be to restore the lives of the [people] who have had their homes destroyed,” he said.

He acknowledged the Government’s provision of tents and other temporary assistance but said it was only a stopgap.

“The permanent relocation of those who have been displaced, in consultation with them on lands where they can be permanently settled in decent living conditions, is critical at this time,” he said.

Golding said responsibility for identifying land for relocation rests with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, in his capacity as Minister of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development.

“The matter of lands falls directly under the portfolio of the prime minister. He is in a position to expedite a solution to this crisis, and I’m calling on him to do so,” Golding said.

“Identify an appropriate location and make the necessary investments so that the people can be restored,” he urged Holness.

Opposition leader Mark Golding (second right) listens intently to a resident during a tour on Thursday of Coopers Pen where 20 homes were demolished Tuesday morning. Also pictured are (from left), People’s National Party (PNP) chairman for Trelawny Northern Dennis Meadows; Councillor for the Falmouth Division Garth Wilkinson and PNP spokesman on land Lothan Cousins. (Photo: Horace Hines)

Golding also expressed concern that other households remain at risk “because the demolition was not complete, and they have expressed an intention to return to complete it”. He noted that while some homes were formally titled, others were long-established concrete structures without title.

“The question is, what is going to happen to them? I would call on the Government immediately to begin a process of negotiation on their behalf,” he said.

He recounted a previous attempt by a former PNP Administration to regularise the community under the Housing Act, which was ultimately blocked in court.

“Time is of the essence because… the methods being used by this particular arrangement are extreme,” Golding said.

A scheduled tour by Member of Parliament for Trelawny Northern Tova Hamilton and State Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Donovan Williams was curtailed, as the Government representatives sought to avoid an overlap with the Opposition in the area. Hamilton dropped off relief supplies and left ahead of Golding and his entourage, while Williams arrived later with baskets of relief supplies for babies. It is understood that they plan to return on Friday to provide wider support to affected individuals.

During the PNP tour Thursday, spokesman on land Lothan Cousins said the Government has legal tools available to halt further demolitions and urged the immediate use of Section 4 of the Local Communities Amenities Improvement Act.

“In 2016, there was an incident at 85 1/2 Red Hills Road, similar to this. The Government invoked Section 4 of the Local Communities Amenities Improvement Act that protected the residents in Red Hills Road. That option was also available to the Government to do here,” Cousins argued.

“It must be done forthwith. It is the only way to prevent a further demolition,” he added.

Cousins said a caveat remains on the title following a 2014 compulsory acquisition attempt by the then PNP Administration.

“What we are witnessing here today is most inhumane, and the Government cannot simply say that they are unable to assist the people. That is false,” he said.

PNP chairman for Trelawny Northern Dennis Meadows said the interim arrangements were inadequate, noting that tents had been placed amid rubble.

“You break down somebody permanent castle, and then you rush and come bring temporary tents, and you place those tents on the very ground with the debris,” he said.

“The people of Coopers Pen deserve justice, and they deserve better than this,” he added.