-several young professionals to get house lots

SOME 84 residents of Bare Root, a community located aback Bachelor’s Adventure, East Coast Demerara (ECD), on Friday, received certificates of title to their lands.

Additionally, it was announced that several young professionals in the area will soon be allocated house lots.

For decades, the residents have occupied land in the community without any formal proof of ownership. During surveys done in 2004, 2009 and 2017, some discrepancies were discovered. Some were rectified during a survey in June 2022.

Sheldon Younge, one of the first residents to receive his ownership document, told the Guyana Chronicle that he has been waiting for decades to receive his title.

“This make I feel real good. I been waiting a long time, couple well years,” he said.

The man explained that there was a previous mix up with his document which saw the incorrect name being placed on his documents.

He noted that this took years to be sorted; however, now that he has received his title, he will consider some doing a small expansion either to his house, or the small shop he operates in the lower flat of his property.

“Well when my wife come home, we will decide what we gone do,” an excited Younge said.

Meanwhile, an elderly resident, Anita Scott, told this publication that she feels “at peace” to know that she has something to leave behind for her children and grandchildren.

“It feels good you know. I am a grandmother and it feels nice that I have something that I can leave for them,” she added.

Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, who led the distribution exercise, noted that while the goal was to deliver over 300 titles, there were several discrepancies and unique situations which will take some time to sort out. She reassured the residents that those will be sorted.

“We had complicated cases. We had cases where the officers from Central Housing had to come back on ground to re-verify some of the lots here and there were a lot of work that had to be done just in that short period of time,” the minister added.

The minister told the gathering that a team will be returning to community to allocate house lots to several young people.

“We are doing our part. We want to ensure that we uplift all the citizens of our country and friends…we don’t make empty promises. When we come to communities, we look you in the eye, we come in your presence, we come amongst you and we make a commitment to you. We respect you and we respect the commitment that we make,” Minister Rodrigues said.

Further, the minister reiterated the PPP/C Government’s commitment to ensuring that every adult Guyanese has access to a piece of land, along with the accompanying titles.

“There’s still a lot more to be done and I hope this demonstrates to you…our process and our commitment to this community.”

As part of the national housing programme, government will ensure that residents in every community have access to basic necessities such as roads and bridges, drainage, water, electricity and recreational facilities.

Six roads will be upgraded in the community to the tune of $407 million. Tenders are out for the project and works will commence by year-end.

Further, a US$7.8 million water-treatment plant will be constructed in Bachelor’s Adventure. The water-treatment plant will serve communities from Coldingen to Nabaclis, East Coast Demerara.

This project is also at the tendering stage and once completed, it will see a significant increase in water quality in the identified areas.