“Poor People Fed Up!” Bounty Killer Speaks Out After Sugar Company Of Jamaica Demolished Homes
The Warlord, Bounty Killer and other members of the Reggae/Dancehall fraternity have voiced strong objection about the manner in which SCJ (Sugar Company of Jamaica) Holdings Limited, a government agency, demolished 15 family homes at Innswood Estates in St. Catherine last Saturday, leaving the occupants including a middle-aged woman, homeless.
Their outcry comes after a video was carried by The Gleaner newspaper on its social media pages showing the dispossessed occupants combing through the rubble in an attempt to find medication among other possessions.
According to The Gleaner, the families, who are third-generation occupants of the land which is owned and controlled by SCJ Holdings Limited, had scurried to secure furniture, appliances, clothing, and other belongings as “bulldozers rumbled in about 7 o’clock on Saturday morning”.
The Poor People Governor made it clear that the behavior of the SCJ Holdings was unacceptable and should not be tolerated when he reposted the video from the IG page of fellow artist Baby Cham.
“TO BE POOR IS A CRIME IN JAMAICA. Poor People Fed Up & Tired A Di F_kery!!” Bounty declared.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLXM6kipWH3/
Cham, who had tagged Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness had stated: “These are the things we need you to STAND UP STRONG against for the PEOPLE!! No one deserves this type of treatment or living conditions in 2021. WE CAN DO BETTER!!”
It was Bounty’s repost, however, which evoked a slew of comments from his fans and other artists including singjay Tanya Stephens.
“Tan a u yard until dem demolish it pon yu head? Jankro dem,” Stephens said.
Also commenting was Billboard producer and songwriter Koolface who berated the government for being uncaring about the plight of the poor.
“They have never cared about Poor people and even in this Pandemic they still turn a blind eye because hunger and crime isn’t affecting the Rich and upper echelons of this country, so until then these cries will fall on deaf ears,” he stated.
The video post was also shared by Zip FM disc jockey ZJ Sparks on her Instagram page, which was picked up by Dancehall bad gyal Ce’cile and Pine and Ginger singer Tessellated.
“Would love to hear the full story here as im not privvy to it. Anyways if they got notice etc and are supposed to leave could they not evict them without destroying their things? Is this how we treat women and children in a pandemic??? Could there not have been a better way? This is just divisive and problematic. This no feel right,” Ce’cile surmised.
Tessellated also came to the conclusion that the SCJ and their agents lacked compassion and made it known in his comments. “Regardless of if they got notice or not, is this how we should treat people and their homes? If someone can’t afford them yard fi get knock down and them out in the street?” he stated.
The SCJ which responded to the allegations of abuse yesterday, said that it had exercised due process and that the demolition was a last resort after the families failed to vacate the land so it could be handed to the new owners as agreed.
According to The Gleaner, the company said it had first notified the residents of its plans for the development of the land back in 2014 and that after a number of meetings, all parties had agreed that the SCJ would assist the families in relocating to Ebony Park.
A company representative had also said residents ‘executed a deed of release and discharge in May 2020’ and that the SCJ had constructed 10 homes at Ebony Park for them, which were outfitted with electricity and water.
“Despite our best efforts to have the remaining occupants, whose possession has prevented the SCJH from being able to grant the buyer vacant possession, to vacate the lands; there was no alternative but using the legal options available”, he told The Gleaner.