… investment of more than $90M
THE Ministry of Housing and Water, through the Squatter Regularisation and Upgrading Department, has materialised government’s promise of regularisation to the residents of Balthycock. The Balthycock community, Blairmont Number One Settlement, West Bank Berbice,   has been a squatting community for more than 20 years, and residents were given that opportunity of a lifetime , on Monday , to own their own piece of land.
This community has approximately 150 residents and a total of 89 residential house lots were identified in the design of the area.
Transfer of ownership of the land is presently being processed and should be completed within two months. This would facilitate the recording of the cadastral plan and the processing of individual title to allottees. It must be noted that seven persons who occupy the Sea Defence reserve were identified for relocation.
Speaking at a gathering of beneficiaries, Minister Irfaan Ali noted that regularisation is more than just the plotting out of land. The minister explained that regularisation requires putting in the necessary infrastructure that will make the lives of residents more comfortable, while adding value and equity to the land that they will soon own.
It is to this end, Minister Ali noted, that government has invested more than $90M in Balthycock. Already $40M was invested for the construction of roads, drains and structures. This project is 80% completed to date. A greenheart timber bridge will also be constructed to the tune of $15M. The contract for the installation of a pure water distribution network will go out to tender in two weeks’ time.
Minister Ali informed the residents that the installation of electricity in Balthycock will be done sometime in the first half of 2012. This is estimated to cost a further $10M.
This represents an investment of more than $1.1M per household and a per capita investment of $600,000.
Minister Ali pointed out that the entire regularisation process for Balthycock was done by direct participation of and consultation with the residents. He also expressed government’s commitment to the people of Guyana and made it clear that the government will continue to make the necessary investments that will ensure that the lives of all Guyanese improve.
Minister  Ali  met with residents of the Cane Grove squatting area recently ,  to host the first round of regularisation consultations with the aim of commencing an occupational survey so that the area can be regularised, thereby  improving the living standards of hundreds  of citizens.

Regularisation Continues
As part of the strategy for improving the lives of all citizens, the Peoples Progressive Party  Administration is adopting a different approach  aimed at regularisation, so as to afford citizens the opportunity of having legal claim to their property.
In recognition of this aim, 170 of the total of 216 squatter settlements identified by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) have so far been regularised.
The remaining areas are either road reserves, sea – defence reserves, other drainage reserves such as the banks of canals, and are categorised as zero tolerance areas in that, they cannot be regularised.
From 1992 to 2011, approximately 18, 166 lots have been regularised of the 170 areas under regularisation.
There are 21,037 lots in areas with completed surveys, from a total of 147 areas across the country, and 23 such areas have incomplete surveys.
To date, the Ministry of Housing’s regularisation process has brought benefits to close to 111,250 citizens of this country, and even more are set to benefit as the process continues nationwide.