–President Ali announces

TO address profiteering and misuse of land leases, particularly along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Monday announced that the government will pursue stringent measures to prevent the illegal sale and transfer of land leases.
In his address at an event in Timehri, where 435 land leases were handed over to long-term residents, President Ali highlighted the complexities of the highway region, which, he noted, encompasses indigenous lands, private lands, and leased lands, making regulation crucial.
“We have allocated nationally close to 4,000 leases… about 4,000 leases nationally all across the country…we have allocated the last four years and 60 per cent of that was on the highway. Close to 60 per cent is on the Linden/Soesdyke highway,” he said.

The Head of State pointed out the issue of landholders with large plots who do nothing with their land but profit illegally by selling leases.
“We are also going to take strong measures against those landholders with large plots of land and leases that are doing nothing. But they are sitting on it, and they are profiteering on it. Because many of them are illegally selling the leases,” President Ali said.
To curb this practice, the Head of State directed the drafting of an amendment to the legislation to prohibit the sale and transfer of leases.

He said that the amended legislation: “Will disallow persons from selling their leases, whether the leases are in the company, or individually.”
“They cannot sell these leases. We going to amend the legislation, strengthened the regulation so that these leases cannot be transferred or sold on the way they’re being transferred and sold here. So, we have to address that,” President Ali said.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has long made significant strides towards tighter regulation and enforcement to ensure land leases are used appropriately and not exploited for profit.
According to the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GL&SC) website, a lease is an absolute grant for a term of years issued over state or government lands. The current standard lease is for a term of 50 years and revert to the State on expiry of the term of the lease.
Lease lands are mainly available in the second depth of the Plantations along the main rivers and in the Hinterlands of Guyana.

The GL&SC has the authority to withdraw leases and impose penalties for illegal activities, such as subletting, squatting, and wilful trespass on state lands. Current penalties include fines, imprisonment, and the removal of illegal occupants.
Subletting of state lands by legal lease holders to others at higher rates is considered illegal occupancy of state lands. As such, the GL&SC can withdraw the lands from the original lease holders for breaching the terms of the lease.