Land, house lots policy envisages regional input, decision deadlines
Stabroek News
May 20, 2002
Minister of Housing, Shaik Baksh on May 9th tabled proposals in Parliament for the distribution of house lots and the allocation of state land based on what are described as objective and transparent criteria and procedures.
The parliamentary committee on constitution reform agreed that the government should present its policy, including an appeal mechanism, on the issue by December 31, 2000 and this decision was reaffirmed by the dialogue between President Bharrat Jagdeo and PNC/R Leader Desmond Hoyte with a requirement that it be presented by the end of February. The government did not meet this deadline and this was one of the conditions set by the PNC/R for the resumption of the Jagdeo/Hoyte dialogue that it suspended in March.
The proposals for the house lot distribution call for the appointment by the Minister of a six-man House Lot Allocation Committee in each region comprising three representatives each from the Regional Democratic Council and the Central Housing Planning Authority (CH& PA). A representative of the CH&PA will chair the committee and that person would have an original and casting vote.
The policy paper proposes that allocation of house lots for low-income groups would be based on household size, ability to construct a house, proximity to the scheme in which the lots are to be allocated, household income of less than $60,000 per month and the year an application was made to the CHPA. The family must also be in rented accommodation.
For the middle-income group the household income requirement is $60,000+ per month, with proximity to the scheme and the year of application to the CH&PA the other conditions to be met. Applicants in both groups who own land are ineligible for an allocation of a house lot.
The paper proposed that the criteria be the basis for a computerised point system which would be used to make allocations.
After the applications have been processed, the policy requires a public review of the list of eligible applicants with a 30-day period being set aside for the public to comment on or raise objections.
It set out the procedure for allocation of a specific lot to an applicant through an impartial public drawing.
An appeals committee headed by the chairman of the CH&PA is proposed to which any person who considered himself/herself unfairly treated in the allocation or non-allocation of a house lot can approach. In addition to the chairman, two nominees from non-governmental organisations will be the other members of the committee, with the secretary to the CH&PA board or other designated officer as its members.
The committee will be required to meet monthly or more frequently as agreed. It will make recommendations affirming or denying previous rulings based on testimony, claims, records, policies and applicable provisions of law to the Minister who will indicate his concurrence to the appellant through the secretary of the appeals committee.
In cases where he does not concur with the appeals committee's recommendation, the Minister is required to meet with it to have the matter determined. The recommendations of the appeals committee are final and binding for the parties and the CH&PA is required to give effect to them.
However, before approaching the appeals committee, the aggrieved person must exhaust all avenues of redress with the CH&PA including an appeal to the Minister. With regard to the allocation of state lands, the paper proposes a seven-man regional land selection committee with the minister as the appointing authority.
It will comprise of a chairman to be appointed by the Minister while the Regional Democratic Council will nominate three members. The three other members are required to be persons with expertise in land use planning, agriculture and investment promotion. A representative of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council in which the land is situated will be invited to attend the meeting at which that allocation is being considered. The proposed term of office of the committee is two years.
The proposed functions of the committee are to review and evaluate the applications for state land made through the field office of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) now a semi-autonomous body, utilising evaluation criteria specified by the Commissioner, GL&SC and to make recommendations on each application to the GS&LC.
Among the criteria the paper proposes for the review and evaluation of applications are the availability of land and where there is land available for the use proposed by the applicant, its suitability for the proposed use taking into account the soil type, vegetation and topography, and whether or not the proposed use conflicts with the surrounding land uses.
Other criteria include the financial capability of the applicant to utilise the land productively with supporting evidence being required where the application is for more than 15 acres, the resources, including biological and mechanical, available to the applicant, experience in the activity proposed to carried out on the land, whether or not the applicant already owns lands, family status, and whether or not the applicant is a member of a disadvantaged gender group.
The paper calls for the GL&SC to operationalise the criteria into a standard form with a points system for use by each land selection committee and requires the publication in a newspaper of mass circulation of the proposed grant of land where the allocation is in excess of 40 acres.
The policy paper also sets timelines for the processing of an application. These are 30 days from the time an application is filed for an inspection report to be prepared; a maximum of eight weeks within which the application is required to be taken before the land selection committee; once taken to the land selection committee, there is a two-week timeframe from the date of the meeting at which it is considered within which the application with a recommendation must be sent to the GS&LC. However where no recommendation is made, the timeframe for forwarding it to the GS&LC is two months. Once with the GS&LC, the Commissioner will be required to forward the application to the chairman of the GS&LC board within one month of receiving the file. The paper stipulates that a lease is to be prepared within one month of the application being approved by the GS&LC board.
The paper provides for the GS&LC board to approve applications by resident Guyanese for renewals, transfers and cancellation for land up to 40 acres as well new application up to that acreage. For acreage between 41 to 500 acres, the approval has to be granted by the Board and the Minister. It provides for the Cabinet to approve all applications for land by overseas investors; new applications by resident Guyanese for land in excess of 500 acres and for renewals, transfers and cancellation where the acreage is over 500 acres.
The paper does not include an appeal mechanism to which an aggrieved person would have recourse where his application is denied.
It notes too the responsibility of the GS&LC for fostering efficient and equitable land distribution, regularisation of tenure and ensuring proper and just administration of public lands. As a consequence, the GS&LC is to be charged with developing the human capacity for inspection, monitoring and enforcement as well as to review surveying legislation and methods with a view to making the process faster and less costly.
The paper posits the need for public land administration and distribution to be financially sustainable and as such the GS&LC would have to review its fees and charges to bring them up to realistic levels.