– GL&SC to engage residents of reserve lands

THE Government is addressing the issue of land demarcation in indigenous communities through the Amerindian Land Titling Project.

Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams has noted that since the current government took control of the project in 2015, some 13 hinterland region communities have been demarcated.

She made the pronouncement on Friday while speaking at a People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) press conference at Congress Place.
She also noted that the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) is preparing to commence discussions with the occupants of reserve lands along waterfront areas in various regions on a way forward.

“The GLSC has been able to identify 29 owners who we’re starting to have discussions with them to see how best we can [address the issues],” Minister Hastings-Williams said on Friday.

She continued: “Some of them are legal owners, they have their documents [such as transport] but everywhere else they tend to go [in land use] a little bit further than what was their legal title. So, we are looking at that process to see how best we can find solutions,” she said.

The Amerindian Land Titling Project which commenced in 2013 sought to enable the indigenous peoples to secure their lands and natural resources with a view towards sustainable social and economic development.

Under the Guyana REDD + Investment Fund (GRIF), the government in 2013 signed a US$10.7M document for the implementation of the Amerindian Land Titling and Demarcation project, which concluded in 2016.
In 2017, an extension was sought and a further $165M was earmarked for the advancing of the remaining identified areas for land titling.

It is expected that titling and demarcation will strengthen land tenure security and the expansion of the asset base of Amerindians, thus enabling improved long term planning for their future development.

Minister Hastings-Williams noted that some amount of technical delays were experienced recently in the recruitment of a Technical Project Coordinator and a Project Manager.
However, she said that a recent meeting with the GLSC, the Ministry Of Indigenous Peoples Affairs and United Nation (UN) representatives resulted in a consensus that the involved stakeholders will work to move the project forward at a faster pace.