MINISTER within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, on Friday, distributed certificates of title to 48 residents of Lima Sands in Region Two.

The one-day distribution exercise was held at the Region Two State House at Anna Regina and is the first of many.

During her address to the large gathering, Minister Rodrigues said that the Ministry of Housing remained faithful to a commitment it made to the residents to resolve the title issue which had existed for over two decades.

“We had over the years several plans drawn for the area because of how the area had started through informal settlement. We had a very constant issue where people were shifting boundaries, so every time we go back to the area for verification, things were changing so it made it difficult,” Rodrigues said.

The minister used the opportunity to invite residents of communities such as Henrietta, Hampton Court and Coffee Grove to start the process of applying for their land titles.

She said the ministry and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) are ready to start processing the titles once persons come forward.

The minister told the gathering after the outreach that residents can visit the regional housing office at any time to sign up for their land titles.

“So those who are here to sign up today, we will process you, we will work through to finish [and] those who miss today can come and sign up for their title for their area,” she said.

She added that the ministry was able to verify over 600 lots in the Lima Sands area and is currently processing those.

Meanwhile, with regards to the housing needs in the region, she said that while the demand is not high, the regularisation of informal settlements and the issuance of ownership documents are priority issues for many residents.

She said that her ministry is almost up-to-date with house lot applications and allocations.

The minister disclosed that from 2020 to present, 706 house lots were distributed in Region Two with over $3.5 billion spent on the infrastructure.

She said that 122 roads across the region were upgraded.

Minister Rodrigues urged residents to work with the ministry as it continues to serve in their best interest.

Some of those who attended the outreach said that they were happy with the outcome. They related that they were living on plots for many years and did not have any documents to show that they owned the land. With the ministry’s intervention, they can now take steps to upgrade their property.

“I am very happy about this; I want my title so I can go to the bank and be able to take out a loan and improve my life. I am happy the ministry is doing this,” Margret Williams said. (Indrawattie Natram)