PNCR slams reallocation of ousted Mocha residents’ lands

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has issued a sharp rebuke of the recent land allocations near the Eccles-Great Diamond Highway, demanding that the government explain why lands in the purported pathway of the highway are being allocated to new owners after Mocha residents were forcibly evicted from the area.
In a statement released on August 13, the PNCR criticised Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, for failing to address concerns raised by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton during a press conference on August 9, 2024. Norton had accused the government of allocating lands near the highway to “PPP family, friends, and favourites,” while using the construction of the highway as a pretext to evict Mocha-Arcadia residents.
Minister Croal’s comments, published in the Stabroek News, did not refute Norton’s allegations, the PNCR argued. The party emphasised that the lands now being allocated are closer to the road than those from which Afro-Guyanese families were removed, questioning why only these families were targeted for eviction.
“In wantonly destroying the homes and livelihoods of the dozens of families in the Mocha-Arcadia area, the PPP used the excuse that the houses were in the pathway of the highway,” the PNCR’s statement read, referencing a ministry advertisement from October 2022 that justified the evictions as necessary for the highway’s construction.
The PNCR called on the government to clarify why lands that were supposedly needed for the highway are now being allocated to others, particularly to individuals with connections to the ruling party. They further questioned the government’s previous appeals for residents to set aside personal and political agendas, suggesting that the true motive behind the evictions was to reassign the lands to PPP affiliates.
The opposition party reiterated its stance that the land reassignments were politically motivated, and vowed that a future PNCR-led government would not recognize the titles or transports granted under these circumstances. The party also promised to compensate the displaced Mocha-Arcadia residents, as well as any other Guyanese who have been victims of what they describe as the PPP’s “discrimination, victimisation, and executive lawlessness.”