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Another incident occurring on the East Coast of Guyana at Non Periel D Pigaistra Housing Co-op Society Ltd saw the PPP/C Guyana Government using the Guyana Police Force along with strong-arm tactics to “steal” the lands from the residents of the Melanie Damishana area.
Members of the Co-op referred to their documentation of the co-op to draw attention to the matter. One Co-op Member explained during a social media Facebook live at the site, that “We had filed an injunction in 2010 against the government for the co-op land, the matter was concluded in May of 2016, An order was given but the order seemingly disappeared from Guyana’s Court Registry and we went back and got the order from Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes.”
The co-op member further explained that “the PPP/C administration had stolen five hundred and twenty-seven house lots from the housing Co-op in 2010 and that had prompted the court proceedings.” The co-op was established in 1974 under the housing drive, during LFS Burnham’s Peoples National Congress Administration.
Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs Amanza Walton-Desir during the 67th Sitting of the National Assembly budget debate addressed the Parliament on the land grab by the Peoples Progressive Party Civic Government.
Walton-Desir had expressed that the PPP/C is disposing of people of a certain ethnicity who have land. The Shadow Minister said too that Afro-Guyanese are heavily involved in co-operatives and in cooperative lands.” She added that “The PPP/C is a clear and Present Danger to the constitutional rights and freedom of Guyanese,” they are coming after our property, freedom of speech, and coming after our way of life she sad.
As of 2010, Guyana had over one thousand Co-op Societies in communities countrywide. They consist of large and small co-operative societies, agricultural, farming, fishing, supermarket, Police Co-operatives, and others. These co-operatives were organized to allow for sustainable living while affording citizens across Guyana the opportunity to acquire land and build homes at costs affordable to the current salary scale in any given year.
Walton-Desir amplified her distaste on August 14, 2023, in a Press Release: “Government’s interference in legally owned land”. She noted that “It is a stark reminder that our struggle for property rights and equality is far from over”. Explaining that cooperatives have been an essential part of Guyana, driven by hardworking individuals from diverse backgrounds contributing not just to their own livelihoods but to the overall growth of our society. She said “The government’s role includes safeguarding the constitutional rights of every citizen, irrespective of their ethnic background or political affiliation.
Since the government came to power in 2020 residents in communities countrywide have been given short notice to move from prime real estate locations. Many residents have suffered their homes being bulldozed, dogs killed and left homeless. Some of the communities are Came View Mocha Arcadia, Hillfoot on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway and others.
