The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

THE Water and Sewerage Corporation has clarified that it only owns a portion of the land in dispute in Pinewood Gardens which residents are using as a community garden.

Last week, Pinewood MP Rueben Rahming claimed that constituents were squatting on the government land in question.

Yesterday, co-founder of Pinewood Community Watch and Garden, Jerad Darville, called for a public apology from Mr Rahming over accusations of “political extortion” relating to the matter.

In a press statement released on Wednesday, WSC confirmed that only a portion of the property in question is owned by the corporation.

The statement noted: “In accordance with a recent newscast regarding the property in Pinewood Gardens which houses a WSC sewer lift station, for which a portion is being used for farming by the Pinewood community, the corporation confirms that it only owns the piece —20 by 20— of land where the sewer lift station sits.

“After some investigation into the matter, the corporation is satisfied that the portion of the property being used for farming is not owned by the corporation.”

Mr Darville produced receipts to The Tribune which indicated restoration was paid for by the group and not WSC as Mr Rahming claimed.

Mr Rahming did not return calls placed up to press time.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Darville said he is happy that the truth was revealed.

He said: “We are not squatters, but we are in fact community builders just trying to assist the community. I feel happy that this has finally been cleared up.

“When (Mr Rahming) came into the community garden and saw the clean-up we had done, he assured us after the budget was cut last year that he would make room for our initiative this year, if we kept on pushing. He congratulated us with intense vigour and made promises of support to us,” he claimed.

“I would like (Mr Rahming) to give an apology to the people of Pinewood, the entire community of Pinewood, for his actions, the actions were unwarranted. We need an apology; also we would like for him to continue to live up to his pledge and give us support in the area. So that we can be able to develop the land further and make it safer for the community in terms of removing the excess mounds of rubbish that wasn’t able to be cleared due to our funds being depleted.”

Despite the back-and-forth relating to this matter, Mr Darville said the Pinewood community still needs Mr Rahming’s support. He is still hoping the MP will match the $25,000 he said residents have put into the property.

He said: “We would like (Mr Rahming) to lend his support and for us to come together. We would like him to still know that we in the community would still love his support inside our ventures in the community better.”

Mr Darville said residents will use any additional funding to clear down the remaining bushes, pay for persons active in the garden to be BAMSI certified, purchase a caution sign with a flashing light to be placed by the Cleveland Eneas Primary School and start an aquaponics programme at the school to farm fresh water lobsters.

Last week, Mr Rahming slammed the cultivator of what he termed as an unauthorised community garden in his constituency, hitting out at the man’s attempt to have him pledge $25,000 for the further development of the property. At the time, he accused Mr Darville of political extortion.

Speaking to reporters at the House of Assembly, Mr Rahming said he found Mr Darville’s statement on the garden “amazing and quite frankly very offensive”.

His comments came after Mr Darville held a press conference in the area pleading for Mr Rahming to match the community’s $25,000 for further development of the area.

“I take this as no joke and no game. I warned (Jerad) to stand down. They heard some of the plans that I would (have) wanted to be done in the community and I’ve been seeking out land for the last two years...Water and Sewerage owned (the) land,” Mr Rahming explained last week.

“…The reason why the property near his house that he is now calling community garden is developed because, as he said in the statement, it (was) a dumping ground that became a hazard, so we had Water and Sewerage come and clean it down.”

He claimed Mr Darville is using the land without proper approval.

“. . .I warned him that no MP has the authority to give anybody use of a government corporation’s land. For that to happen you have to go through processes and the board,” Mr Rahming had said earlier.

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