Residents of Belladrum and neighboring villages in Berbice are pleading with President Irfaan Ali to make good on a commitment made to restore their farmlands located behind Eldorado to Weldaad, and for compensation to be paid for freehold lands at Belladrum and Eldorado, which were expropriated by Central Government without the consent of the proprietors.
Lelon Saul – a proprietor of lands located in Eldorado – told News Source today that the issues were raised with President Ali back in October 2022, and despite a commitment to have the farmland restored to allow residents to engage in commercial activities, there has been little progress.
The Administration, through the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary – Agriculture Development Authority (MMA-ADA), has requested that the legal owners of the properties give the necessary permission for the restoration of the farmlands. However, Saul explained that most of the owners are deceased. He said as such, the lands have been retained by descendants in keeping with custom.
He said while residents of Belladrum patiently await the restoration of their farmlands, residents of Foulis have had their lands cleared, although in some cases, the lands are in the names of deceased persons.
In a Letter to the Editor, Saul further detailed that between five villages – Eldorado, Belladrum, Paradise, Golden Fleece and Weldaad, only three lots (41, 42a, and 42b Eldorado) were cleared of vegetation.
In an interview with the press, Saul said it is only fair that the residents of Belladrum enjoy the same benefits as those in Foulis.
“We need our lands to be cleared, the villages that we mention, so we can get involved in some economic ventures. There is a plan, there was a submission, we had discussion with the MMA and we like to put that into action now,” he said.
Another affected resident – Handel Ward of Paradise – said it is a clear case of discrimination. Like Saul, he explained that many persons are heirs, and administrators of the lands.
The situation, he said, was explained to the MMA-ADA.
“These are ancestral land. We did get transport but most of the people deceased. The heirs of the land are still here…They come to Foulis, they didn’t collect no transport from nobody, they just come and clear the land. These excavators went here for months and did private work for our Indian brothers,” Ward complained.
Describing the Government as “callous,” Ward questioned if the differences in treatment is a representation of the the President’s “One Guyana”
“It is unfair to us. What, we got to wear a red jersey to get work done? We got to collect a money and a box of food? Any government in power, need to look after these people, everybody. So, all these things that they talking, ‘One Guyana.’ How can it be ‘One Guyana’ when on side clear and the other side full of bush,” Ward said.
On the issue of compensation for lands expropriated in Belladrum and Eldorado, the affected residents explained that while an exercise was initiated by MMA-ADA in 2023 to determine the acreage of the affected lands, proprietors have not been updated since on the planned compensation.
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