Couple cries foul following eviction by Portmore Municipal Corporation

 

A couple is crying foul after being evicted by the Portmore Municipal Corporation from a property at 2 West in Greater Portmore, St. Catherine on Tuesday.

 

The couple says a five-day squatting notice was served, which was not sufficient time to relocate.

 

Anthony Dial, a farmer and labourer, told Radio Jamaica News that the house was demolished and their furniture loaded onto trucks in their absence.

 

Mr. Dial, who said they were alerted to the demolition by neighbours, is questioning the short eviction notice and why other people living on the property were not removed. 

 

"If you come and say you deh demolish land weh people a capture, why did you only take down one house alone and is three person live on the land?"   

 

Mr. Dial, who is a native of Trelawny, moved to the area to assist a man with his crops. He later went into farming himself, raising pigs. 

 

He said he has been living at the property for one year, after he built a house near his pig pen so he could be close to the animals and deter praedial thieves. 

 

He also claimed that money which was inside the house is missing following the demolition. 

 

But Chief Executive Officer of the Portmore Municipal Corporation, Rovel Morris, has said adequate notice was served on the couple to relocate.

 

"Our enforcement team would have gone to the area. They would have dialogued with the lady (Mr. Dial's partner). They would have actually served a five-day squatting notice to her. She would have come in on the sixth. That was July 6. She came in, dialogued with the corporation. She was again asked nicely to remove the structure. The team went back on July 10th...September 6th, and they went back also the 10th of September. She still did not adhere. So under the law, the regulations, they would have done their due diligence to have the structure removed," he outlined. 

 

Mr. Morris said he has not received a report about missing money and defended the credibility of the municipal officers who participated in the demolition.