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Golding rejects claims linking him, Bunting to Coopers Pen land
🇯🇲 Jamaica /Crime & Justice

Golding rejects claims linking him, Bunting to Coopers Pen land

From Jamaica Observer · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Opposition Leader Mark Golding denied allegations linking him and another opposition figure to land in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, where homes were demolished.
  • Golding stated he has no interest in the property and has never visited it before the controversy.
  • He urged the government to intervene and find solutions for displaced residents, including resettlement and negotiation with landowners.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has forcefully rejected claims that he and Opposition spokesman on national security Peter Bunting have any stake in the Coopers Pen property in Trelawny, Jamaica, where 20 homes were demolished.

There have been some scurrilous false allegations being spread by the JLP bloggers and trolls about the ownership of this land.

— Mark GoldingDenying allegations linking him to the Coopers Pen property.

During a tour of the community on Thursday, Golding addressed what he called "scurrilous false allegations being spread by the JLP bloggers and trolls." He explicitly stated, "For the record, I have no direct or indirect interest in this land. Neither does Peter Bunting. Neither does Proven."

Golding asserted that he had never visited the land before the recent controversy and was seeking to understand its history and the circumstances surrounding the demolitions. He noted that the property has reportedly been owned by New Falmouth Holdings since the 1960s. He also raised questions about why the rights of residents who have occupied the land for many years, potentially through adverse possession, had not been protected.

For the record, I have no direct or indirect interest in this land. Neither does Peter Bunting. Neither does Proven.

— Mark GoldingExplicitly denying any ownership or interest in the disputed land.

The opposition leader called for urgent government intervention to resolve the situation for the affected residents. He stressed that those whose homes were destroyed should be resettled "in dignity and in comfort." Additionally, he urged the government to negotiate with the property owners to protect residents whose homes remain standing but are threatened by the same process.

I’ve never been to this piece of land before. I know nothing about it, and I’m trying to get to the bottom of it now.

— Mark GoldingStating his lack of prior knowledge about the Coopers Pen property.

Golding emphasized the need for immediate government action to address the plight of residents whose homes were demolished and those who remain at risk. He stated that the government must "step in and find a solution for the people" and negotiate with owners to prevent further destruction.

Some of the people have been here for many, many years. They should have acquired rights by virtue of their long-standing adverse possession. I don’t know how those rights have not been protected.

— Mark GoldingQuestioning the protection of long-term residents' rights on the land.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jamaica Observer. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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