APNU Councillor evicted off land by former APNU/AFC-appointed REO

APNU Councillor Shamie McAlmont

A Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) A Partnership for National Unity councillor is asking the current regional administration to help her retrieve the land she was evicted from by the then APNU/AFC-appointed Regional Executive Officer (REO).

The call was made on Thursday when the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) met for its July statutory meeting.

In September 2016, farmers who occupied land at Naarstigheid were given notices by the then REO Ovid Morrison, informing them that they can no longer use the land they had been farming on for decades. At the time, the REO had said that the Regional Administration wanted to utilise the land to construct a model farm, but the then RDC at the time had said that it had made no such decision, and the REO was acting on his own.

In November of that year, the farmers were bulldozed off the land, and in September 2018 they took Morrison to court, seeking damages in excess of $10M.

In June 2020, Justice Simone Ramlall awarded special damages to the farmers and ordered that they return to the land.

Earlier this month, Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall told the farmers that they can repossess the land off of which they had once made a living. Morrison had fenced and planted that land, and some of the produce were being harvested and sold. However, when asked back in 2019, Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal said he was unaware of where the funds were going.

On Thursday, Councillor Shamie McAlmont claimed that up to last month she was using the land to farm and earn. She said that proceeds from produce that she sold during the month of June totalled in excess of $40,000. However, she told the RDC that she is one of the farmers who were evicted from the land, as she asked the Regional Chairman to act in a just way.

“Some farmers get back their land. I was one of the first farmers to occupy land there, and I am now being pushed around, but other farmers get back theirs,” she said.

She has called on the RDC to ensure that she is allowed to continue farming. However, Ramphal noted that during the last RDC which he headed, the RDC did not remove anyone from the land.

“Councillor, could you say who took you off of the land?” he asked McAlmont, and got no response.

However, Councillor Delion Crawford objected, saying that there is no record of persons being forced off of the land. He said it was probably for a good reason that there was no record.

In response, Mohamed Rafeeoodin objected, pointing out that records at the court indicate that Morrison had physically assaulted farmers in a bid to get them off the land. Rafeeoodin also mentioned that a Judge ruled that the farmers were bulldozed off the land.

Back in 2016, Morrison had removed about 30 farmers who were from Bath Settlement and had been farming almost 50 acres on land. Those farmers then said that other farmers who lived at Hopetown and also were farming on the same plot of land which was leased from the Agriculture Ministry were not removed.

Meanwhile, at Thursday’s meeting, McAlmont said she was given funding from the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) to construct a building which is being used for processing fruits and vegetables.

Ramphal assured that the administration is encouraging value-added agriculture, and as such welcomed efforts to have food processed. He said he would ensure that McAlmont continues to utilise the building which was constructed after Morrison had evicted the farmers.(By: Andrew Carmichael)