Municipal corporations urged to step up monitoring to stop illegal structures early

 

 

There is a proposal for municipal corporations, which are responsible for issuing building permits, to step up their oversight and identify illegal structures before construction gets too far.

 

The recommendation comes against the background of the demolition exercise in Coopers Pen, Trelawny in August.

 

Kerry Thomas, Councillor for the Mount Salem Division in St. James, says early monitoring could help prevent significant losses for property owners and the wider community.

 

"We here in St. James have more than one informal settlement that are here that people reside on. And I think Mr. Chairman, from two perspectives, this municipal corporation and municipal corporations in general, who are responsible for approving building permits and such forth right throughout the island, [have] a responsibility in administering their duties to ensure that when structures are going up illegally, we have a responsibility to stop them early before they reach too far to full construction and then it becomes a big loss for those involved in it," he reasoned.

 

Mr. Thomas said municipal corporations should take a lead role in regularising informal settlements.

 

"The truth is, with our responsibility, we will protect some of our unsuspecting citizens or residents who might go and purchase a piece of land from somebody and decide to set up a structure and do it however means, and then ultimately end up losing everything," he argued.

 

The councillor was addressing a recent meeting of the St. James Municipal Corporation.

 

In the meantime, the Squatter Management Unit in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development has started the process to regularise illegal settlements in St. James.

 

This was disclosed by Trevion Manning, Director Planning at the St. James Municipal Corporation, in response to suggested measures to address the issue of squatting.

 

"They have now started the work in St. James. They have done the preliminary [work in] all the communities that were submitted to the Ministry.... So St. James is the new focus for the next upcoming months to have all of those communities done. And as soon as they are going in the respective areas, all the councillors and Members of Parliament will be so informed," he advised.