MINISTER within the Ministry of Communities, Mrs. Valerie Patterson, has proposed that a survey be done at Lima Sands, on the Essequibo Coast, to prove ownership of land there.The proposal follows her receipt of a number of complaints from villagers during a recent visit there. Many of those complaints had to do with villagers’ inability to legally acquire land in the area, in spite of their having lived there for many years.

One villager, who said she has been living at Lima Sands for more than two decades, told the minister that when she tried to acquire a piece of transported land, she was told that there are no lands available.

Several other villagers shared similar stories with the minister, among them a teacher who said it’s been a while since she has been transferred to Lima Sands Primary, but to date she has been unable to acquire a house lot.

Persons have also alleged that the shortage of land in the area could be because a number of business persons and a certain former minister of the government own several house lots in the area. They claim that these persons at reference have “transported lands” that are registered in the names of their wives and even their underage children.

Asked by the minister whether the accusations were true, Housing officers not only confirmed that they were, but also said that many persons who own several pieces of land in the area have migrated, and have since been renting their land to interested persons for an exorbitant fee.

That being the case, Minister Patterson has recommended that a survey be done to uncover other discrepancies in the system, as well as to figure ways in which the current situation can be arrested.

“I can promise you that these issues will be solved. However, it won’t happen overnight,” she told Lima Sands residents. “These things take time, but I assure you that we will resolve the issues that you are all facing,” she added.

Meanwhile, villagers who are not yet homeowners were advised to apply for house lots, given that the Ministry will soon be constructing duplex houses at Onderneeming, also on the Essequibo Coast.