SOME 700 house lots will be allocated to Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) on April 16 and 17, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal announced during a visit to the region on Wednesday.

He assured Essequibians during meetings at Onderneeming, and Sandpit and Lima Sands, that the long wait for processing of land titles will soon be rectified.

There, the minister assured residents that his ministry is working diligently to clear the huge backlog of outstanding land titles and the process of acquiring land titles will be made easier and faster.

Efforts are being made to renovate a building to accommodate staffers of the housing department at Anna Regina; the region will also get a new Housing Officer, an Enforcement Officer and an Assistant Housing Officer to help persons in the region with housing matters.

Elaborating on the 700 house lots to be allocated, the minister said 350 will be allocated for Phase Four at Onderneeming and 350 for Charity Housing Scheme.

“This will significantly move the region backlog of applications in the systems and by year-end, we will be investing half-billion Guyana dollars to provide infrastructure for enhancement of Phase Four in Onderneeming and Charity Housing Scheme,” Minister Croal said.

Currently, an engineering team from the ministry is mapping out a plan for the infrastructural works, which will commence shortly.

This aside, the ministry has encountered some issues and among them is fraud. There have been instances where persons paid for the processing of a house lot application, but the government never received the money.

Residents have called for prompt action from the ministry in dealing with housing issues in the region and Minister Croal has promised to look into these matters with urgency.

Meanwhile, one resident, Caren John commended the minister’s effort for hosting one of his outreaches in Onderneeming. She was happy the team came to her area. John said she applied for a house lot many years ago and never received a response from housing officials.

She is currently living with her family in a cramped home.

Moses Williams, another applicant, said he is happy about the outcome of the outreach.

The outreach was a follow-up to one held in February at Charity.  Also present at the two meetings on Wednesday were Region Two Chairperson Vilma De Silva; Regional Vice-Chairperson Humace Oodit; and the Prime Minister’s Representative, Arnold Adams.