OVER 200 households will move closer to officially owning their land in No. 5 Village, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) after years without official documents, according to Attorney-General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall.

It was during a ministerial outreach to the region for a meeting with residents there that AG Nandlall made the disclosure that the regularisation process could begin by July 11.
Minister Nandlall was accompanied by staff of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Deeds and Commercial Registry, and Region Five administration, including Regional Vice-Chairman Rion Peters.

Certificates of Title will be distributed to the residents at the end of the process, making them legal owners of the properties they have already occupied.

According to statistics compiled by the Central Housing & Planning Authority last year, 15 per cent of the Guyanese population, the equivalent of just over 110,000 people are living in informal settlement communities.

The figures show that another 27,500 households are known to be residing on State lands in 231 informal settlement communities.

Currently, the over 200 households occupying lands in the No. 5 Village are deemed as squatters according to law. Minister Nandlall said government is committed to changing that status to landowners.

He advised the residents that a survey of the area will be done after which the entire area, followed by a partitioning to identify lands which are government reserve and other plots with national development potential so that those are not incorrectly given away.

“This is a very important exercise and will give you, in the end, a document that will make you indisputably the owner of that piece of property,” AG Nandlall told the residents.

“Significantly, the government will be undertaking the major costs associated with this exercise. This is not a cheap process,” he stated.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to promoting land ownership, Minister Nandlall said it was President, Dr Irfaan Ali who instructed him to visit communities across Guyana to identify and possibly remedy land-related and other legal issues experienced by citizens.

In 2021 alone, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) regularised over 750 informal settlers residing in Regions Four and Five, while 59 persons squatting on government reserves were relocated.

That was disclosed by Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, in January, who said, at the time, that the exercise was ongoing.

The Housing Minister emphasised then that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government embarked on a national housing plan that caters to the housing needs of all Guyanese, and, therefore, there is absolutely no need for persons to engage in illegal land occupation.

Last year, the Housing Ministry launched the Guyana Strategy for Informal Settlements Upgrading and Prevention, a programme that seeks to address, and, ultimately, eliminate squatting across the country.

The programme is being executed in partnership with the UN-Habitat, the European Union (EU), and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP).

Minister Croal explained that the programme will result in squatting being dealt with in a more structured way, taking into consideration the increased number of squatter settlements across the country, given the influx of migrants into the country.