MINISTER OF Water and Housing, Dr. Karl Blythe, has said that informal settlers occupying sections of land designated for commercial purposes at Mammee Bay South and Windsor in St. Ann, would have to be relocated.
An agreement, he pointed out, had long been reached with the settlers for some 12.8 hectares of the Mammee Bay South property to be utilised for residential purposes, and that an additional 4.8 hectares at the front section of the property had been earmarked for commercial development.
The Minister was speaking as he toured sections of North East St. Ann with Member of Parliament for the area, Danny Melville. Also on the tour were Councillors, Donovan Sydial, Christine Sutherland, Eva Murdock and Carrol Jackson, as well as representatives from the National Water Commission (NWC).
Dr. Blythe said the Government would not be deterred by any "amount of brute force" displayed by those who have occupied the land in recent times, and that formal notices to vacate the land would have been served this week.
He noted that other areas in the parish would be looked at for the possible relocation of those who could not be accommodated on the land.
The Minister maintained that the 4.8 hectares would have to be sold to commercial developers, with funds derived to be used to help meet the cost of the infrastructure for the residential side of the development.
Addressing informal settlers at Windsor, the Minister said that a team from the Ministry would be meeting to discuss strategies for the orderly developments of the area.
The Ministry, he added, would also be looking at relocating persons from sections of Pimento Walk, as part of measures to stem environmental degradation in that watershed area.
On the inadequate Higgin Town water supply system, the Minister said some 67,500 litres of water was produced daily by the Johnny Spring source, and that this could not meet the needs of some 9,000 residents in the area.
He said several possible solutions were being considered, including identifying a site for drilling a well, or utilising the Government's rapid response programme to supply water to the people.
