By Carlena Knight
Several families residing in the Booby Alley community in the Point are being accused of purposefully delaying a proposed housing project and have been warned to cooperate or face legal action.
The warning came from Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Thursday afternoon during the historic signing of the Booby Alley Housing Projects Units Agreement between the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and the Peoples Republic of China at the Prime Minister’s Office.
“We are still having resistance from, I am told, about six residents and I want to tell you that we are going to take them to court and move them forcefully from the area. We are not going to allow six misguided residents to stop a project that is going to empower the people of Booby Alley,” he said.
Browne, who is also the Parliamentary Representative for the area, made one final appeal to the residents, adding that if they do not adhere to his plea, they will be dealt with in a more stringent manner, one of which is possible legal action.
“I want to publicly ask those residents to cooperate. They know who they are, but they ought to know that having made this public appeal and they fail to cooperate, then they will have to face the law, and we will move them forcefully. So, this is a final warning,” he added.
Browne said he is giving the residents a specific timeline to cooperate or face the consequences as it is his plan to have all the residents of Booby Alley relocated by mid-September.
He added that the government has been very patient and sensitive regarding their relocation, however “the time [has] run out, so they have to move and I would say, within 14 days we want them out”.
“My understanding is that the People’s Republic of China will commence even shipping certain materials from now, because we have had logistical problems as you are aware, so time is of the essence. We are trying to get this programme started before the end of the year, and I would imagine probably 14 days, 21 days.”
In fact, Browne went a step further to instruct the Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Works, Clarence Pilgrim — who was present at the signing — to give the specific residents a final warning.
“If they refuse, let’s go to court and get them out and I would say I want that area cleared out no later than the middle of next month,” he declared.
Nevertheless, through the Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yanling who was present at the signing, Browne, Pilgrim, and Attorney General Steadroy ‘Cutie’ Benjamin all expressed their gratitude to China for its continuous support in the development of the twin-island nation.
In response, Ambassador Yanling expressed her country’s elation in continuing to strengthen the ties between two countries, and shared her hope that the project, which has been delayed for some time, can finally get underway.
For about four years, the Booby Alley Housing project has been at the centre of controversy, more so where the relocation of residents is concerned.
In 2019, residents from the area took their protest to the streets, but since then, many of them have been relocated to other communities or have been moved into temporary housing in Villa.
The relocation stage is a major part of the redevelopment plan which will see the structural and environmental rehabilitation of Booby Alley, where 150 new houses will be built thanks to a grant from the Chinese government.
An exact date for when work will commence on the permanent homes to replace the inadequate existing structures, has not yet been disclosed.
