THERE has been a low level of political commitment to halt corruption by the Regional Housing Officials in Region 2, who allegedly are engaged in illegal sales of transported house lots in Charity New Housing Scheme.

The current system of house- lot allocation in my tenure as a Director of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and a member of the regional land selection committee of Region 2 were designed to ensure transparency in the allocation process.
The present illegal sales of  freehold title and house lots by Regional Housing Officials  in Region 2 have been criticised. And although these matters were raised with Minister of Local Government, Mr. Ganga Persaud, nothing was done to correct the situation.
The white paper formulated in 2002 seeks to outline the existing policies and procedures, for the distribution, allocation of land and payment.Housing officers therefore should have a strategic interest and a social obligation to protect those who were allocated lands by the land selection committees and the Ministry of Housing and not  indulge in malpractices by re-selling these lands to make a profit on the state. All of these occurred, although these matters were reported to the Regional Chairman and the Member of Parliament.
It was reported that some gold miners in the Pomeroon River were buying as much as six houselots in the Charity New Housing Schemes. There are no more known criteria for the evaluation of applications or the award of titles. This new practice lacked transparency, with widespread subjectivity, favouritism and ad hoc practices by the officer who is (allegedly) selling free- hold title lands for monetary gain. This complaint needs to be addressed urgently.
An evaluation of the nature and forms by the housing officer would lead to the conclusion that there is no recognisable policy and programmes in place by the region and the Ministry of Housing.
President Donald Ramotar and Minister Irfaan Ali should take note of the trends by this housing officer and not allow it in the entirety of this region. An independent appeals committee should be established by the minister with officers from the Central Housing and Planning Authority  to review all these illegal sales of transported houselots in Charity New Housing Scheme.