…in second half of 2023

MINISTER of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, says his focus for the second half of this year is to regularise undocumented lands and to continue the country’s massive transformation of the housing sector.
During an interview with the Sunday Chronicle, the Housing Minister highlighted that the much anticipated Silica City on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway remains intact on the transformative agenda of the governing People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C).
He is also working to ensure that the authorities regularise and process certificates of title for people who have been occupying undocumented lands. And according to Croal, some of these undocumented areas have already been identified.

“There will be a lot of that happening in the second half of this year because I am at that point where we have a number of old areas where people live, and we are nearing the completion of the legal process that will allow me to move to the next stage of ownership. Also, through the Dream Realised Programme, we are dedicated and focused in working towards accomplishing our overall target of at least 10,000 allocations for the year,” Croal told the Sunday Chronicle.

As it relates to the infrastructural aspect, he explained that the ministry is monitoring works that are taking place in every region.
Construction of houses is ongoing in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), another 50 houses will be constructed in Hampshire while in Bartica Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), the housing programme is being rolled out.
He further noted that some lands are currently being cleared in Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice) for the construction of more houses.
In highlighting the huge workload and the impact it has on the employees, Minister Croal commended the dedication of his staff, noting that the first part of the year was only successful because of their commitment to country.

“The easy part is putting your hand into a bag and selecting a number, but there is a lot of work and planning that goes into what we do as a team, but it is fulfilling to see the reward on the faces of the people. It is not only my ministry that is working beyond the call of duty, but the other ministries and my fellow ministers as well, and we are happy to support President Ali in getting his vision for Guyanese accomplished.”
Meanwhile, since assuming office, Croal has simplified some of the procedures at the Housing Ministry in order to make the process easier for people.
“If someone wants to update their application, send their queries…they can deal with all of that online instead of going to their regional office or coming into the ministry. We have also strengthened the regional offices because there isn’t a dependency in Georgetown, so that people can be more comfortable in getting the information that they need.”