Community Focus: We nuh like tief light - New Town wants to be regularised

New Town wants to be regularised

Residents in New Town, a squatter community overlooking the seaside village of Sandy Bay, say they are desperate to be legally connected to the national grid even though they are not the legitimate owners of the property they occupy.

More than 200 residents live in the hillside community located on the backside of the Tryall Gardens Housing Scheme, where they admitted to capturing lands owned by the Tryall Foundation more than 30 years ago.

"We don't want to be stealing light, and it is a necessity, so we are hoping that good sense will prevail because even though the lands are owned by Tryall, there is a commitment from the Tryall Foundation for us to become legitimate owners," said shopkeeper Cordelia Headley. "We have that commitment, and we believe that is genuine. The requirement on our part is that we will have to pay for infrastructure."

According to Headley, the community used to have regular meetings, led by five residents of New Town who were employed at the neighbouring Tryall Club property.

"Things were going well until all five died one after each other, and the meetings died with them ... but we are desperate to be regularised. We need electricity, proper water, just the basic amenities," she said.

political football

Residents have given up on any help coming from their political representatives, charging that successive governments have only used the issue as a political football.

"They just make empty promises, and you rarely see them until the next election," said Everon McDonald.

JPS estimates that about 200,000 persons are illegally connected to the national grid, but New Town residents say they would prefer to be operating without the threat of potential harassment.

"Not all of us want to be stealing light. I am working, so I can pay my bills," said one man who has lived in the community since 1998. "Light is an essential, especially in these dangerous times."

Leroy Reid, the regional director of distribution for JPS South-West, which consists of eight parishes, including Hanover, said that it is the responsibility of JPS based on the company's licence, to provide electricity to any resident who applies for power supply and meets the requirements for opening an account.

"As a part of business operations, we have what is known as a Conditional Contract. This gives the company the authority to open a contract with a customer on the premise that, if someone else presents documentation that verifies that he/she is the rightful owner of the property and has not given permission for the occupant to have power there, we then disconnect the power supply," he said.