Georgetown: Hundreds of persons converged at the Chateau Margot Primary school, as the Ministry of Housing and Water, took its application and interview process to that location, in wake of the brewing land situation at Success, East Coast Demerara.
Persons who have been occupying lands south of the railway embankment, in the Vryheids Lust, Success, and Chateau Margot communities on the East Coast of Demerara were invited by the Ministry to be a part of the exercise, to ensure that they follow the legal steps in acquiring residential house lots.
As an incentive, the Ministry took a decision to waiver the cost for the application forms for these persons who attended the exercise. Additionally, persons who have an existing application were facilitated to have their information updated as part of the Ministry’s data cleansing activity.
Due to the overwhelming turnout, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Housing Water-Central Housing and Planning Authority, Mr. Sherwyn Greaves said the agency is committed to extending the activity over the coming days, in an effort to facilitate all of the affected persons. He, however, reiterated the Ministry’s zero-tolerance policy on squatting, while noting that efforts are afoot to find lands for distribution.
The issue had its genesis sometime in early August when a team, led by Minister of Housing, Collin Croal, visited the South Success, ECD in response to claims of squatting. It was later revealed that the land falls under the purview of National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) and not the Ministry of Housing. Consequently, the Minister engaged newly appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Radha Krishna Sharma and following those discussions, on Tuesday, September 8, Minister Croal, revisited the area, accompanied by a team from his Ministry, Mr. Zaman Shaw, and officials from NICIL. At each of these meetings, the Ministry’s position about the ownership of the land was reiterated and made clear.
On each occasion, the group was cautioned against erecting structures, including permanent ones, as the lands were being used for the cultivation of cane since the government is in the process of revitalizing the sugar industry.
The illegal occupants were encouraged to form themselves into a group to engage the Ministry so as to assist in the way forward.
Persons who identified themselves as group leaders engaged the Ministry on September 8, 2020, at the Ministry offices on Brickdam. At the meeting, the government’s zero-tolerance position on squatting was further made clear and residents were told to apply for land through the established process.
They were further told that the Ministry is willing to assist in any way possible so as to ensure that they follow the legitimate process of applying for a house lot at an alternative location. The group promised to make available a list of persons from the area who have existing applications in our system and a list for persons who are desirous of applying. To date, this has not materialized, hence today’s exercise.
You must be logged in to post a comment.