Before explaining what the White Paper holds for Guyana, the term 'White Paper' must be explained.

What is a White Paper?
A White Paper is an expression of ideas and views pertaining to a particular social sector. This document is prepared and circulated in the National Assembly and after debate, if accepted, is tabled and becomes a national policy statement on the issue.

The White Paper on Housing noted "In the area of public land, there were no known criteria for the evaluation of applications or the award of titles. Members of the Opposition were never part of, or even invited to sit on land selection committees, even in Regions where they had the greatest public support. The practice lacked transparency, with widespread subjectivity, favoritism and ad hoc practices in the distribution of state lands."

Government has always placed emphasis on land divestment, distribution and allocation to the population and sees land distribution as vital to the social and economic development of the country. During the past 11 years, hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands have been allocated and occupied by individuals. Policies and programmes were formulated and implemented to ensure equity and transparency in the distribution process to enable Guyanese to access land, for the benefit of themselves and their families.

The White Paper addresses the issue of the National Distribution Policy as it relates to lands for agricultural, commercial, industrial, eco-tourism and shelter and settlement. Public lands fall within the jurisdiction of the State Lands Act and are under the ambit of the Lands and Surveys Commission.

In recent years, Government implemented significant institutional policy reforms to improve the beneficial utilization of public lands and provide equal opportunities to the population in accessing land.

The sound policies and programmes in the housing sector have impacted positively on all segments of the population by:

* Providing the opportunity for tens of thousands of Guyanese to own house lots and to build their own homes.

* Providing easier access to finance with relatively lower interest rates and longer repayment periods.

* Bringing squatting under control and the implementation of a nation-wide squatter regularization programme; the objective of which is to regularize all squatter settlements within the next five years.

* Providing security of tenure to thousands of allottees through the granting of land titles with the objective of substantially reducing, if not eliminating, the backlog over the next five years.

* Building infrastructure to provide basic services and hence significantly improve the quality of life in the housing areas.

Government sees land as a national resource and the development and productive utilization of land is integrally tied to national economic and social development.

According to the White Paper "the critical task that besets land policy is therefore the balancing of the need for strategic management with the need for transparent and equitable land allocation."

To date, several changes have been made in the housing sector, which have resulted in significant achievements. The system for the allocation of house lots has been strengthened with several changes, facilitating the distribution of over 50,000 house lots countrywide.

The White Paper was one of the issues dealt with in the joint Communiqué between President Bharrat Jagdeo and Leader of the Opposition Mr. Robert Corbin.

The People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) is expected to submit its assessment of the White Paper shortly.

Excerpt from the Communiqué:

National Policy on Land and House lots Distribution:

The Policy Paper, tabled by the Minister responsible for Housing and Water on May 9, 2002, in the National Assembly, was discussed. It was agreed that the Minister would amend the Paper to fully meet the guidelines set by the National Assembly which require the Government to:

* Submit clear, transparent and equitable national criteria for the distribution of land and house lots.

* Establish an independent statutory body to:

* Monitor the distribution of land and house lots to ensure that it is undertaken in compliance with the national criteria.

* Investigate complaints, including complaints about discrimination in the

distribution process.

* Provide adequate redress in proven cases.

The President gave the undertaking that, when the Policy Paper is debated and accepted by the National Assembly, the government will implement the decisions of the Assembly in a time frame to be developed and agreed with the Leader of the Opposition.