-hundreds to receive land titles, leases in two weeks, President Ali says
FIVE hundred new house lots in the squatting area of the Soesdyke-Linden highway will come into operation, according to President Dr Irfaan Ali. The finalisation was done with the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Water.
This was among the announcements made by President Ali on Tuesday evening during a live statement on his Facebook page.
“Importantly, today we also finalised with the lands and survey team and the Ministry of Housing and Water, the coming into operation of 500 new lots on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway,” he said while reflecting on the fact that last year, he spoke on not only the regularisation of the highway but also the creation of three formal housing communities on the highway to address the squatting issues.
He also stated that in the course of the next two weeks, Guyanese will see a major programme, where hundreds of new leases and land titles will be issued to people, including those on Hill Foot.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration’s focus continues to be people-centered, based upon an understanding that development must be for all, especially given the unique transformative opportunities that Guyana has seen in recent years, Minister within the Office of the President Kwame McCoy had previously said.
According to Minister McCoy: “Ordinary Guyanese were punished, as there were no attempts to address the financial disparity in homeownership. Instead, the ‘Coalition’ focused on enriching themselves, their families, and a few of their elite friends.
“A mere 5,000 house lots were distributed during the five years of the APNU+AFC administration. During this period, the coalition also gifted acres of commercial land, twice the size of Barbados, to its few friends.”
Since returning to office in 2020, after fending off an undemocratic attempt to rig the elections, President Ali has delineated a pragmatic and inclusive agenda that addresses the decades-old issue of squatting through the opening up new lands for affordable housing development, with accompanying infrastructural works to ensure roads, water and electricity are provided.
In 2022, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) surpassed the target of 10,000 house lots, pushing the total number of allocations to over 20,000 in two years.
Currently, hundreds of housing units are being constructed across Regions Three, Four, Six and 10, targeting low and moderate-income families, as well as young professionals. Additionally, there are plans to build a massive new city along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.