Minister Baksh urges residents to pay fees to have titles
Guyana Chronicle
March 1, 2004
MINISTER of Housing and Water Mr. Shaik Baksh Saturday urged residents to ensure payment of conveyancing fees so that they could receive titles to the land they occupy.
The Minister and a team from the Ministry visited Golden Grove or Kaneville as it is commonly called where Housing Officials effected a one-stop-shop where residents could come forward and have their titles processed.
Minister Baksh highlighted projects to be effected in the areas and urged residents to provide the necessary support to ensure that these are completed on time. He pointed out that Kaneville is one of the largest squatter settlements countrywide, with a population of over five thousand and 1,100 house lots.
Minister Baksh said, Government has implemented several initiatives to assist in the housing drive, including the reduction of the conveyancing fee. Allottees would only pay $8,000, since the fee was reduced from $12,000. And instead of paying the entire amount at once, as was previously required, people can now pay $4,000 to start processing the title, while they have three months to pay the remainder. Residents are usually given 12 months to construct their houses after payment is completed.
Minister Baksh urged allottees to come forward and have their conveyancing done so that they could have their titles. He said within three to four months allottees could receive their titles.
The Minister pointed out that the housing drive is significant, since the Ministry is moving to distribute titles to people residing in housing schemes and in squatter settlements.
Residents inquired about the electrification programme, since the area is not yet connected to the electricity grid. Minister Baksh noted that Government is working on an electrification programme for housing areas and squatter settlements countrywide. He announced that a new initiative will be implemented through a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and this will start in June this year. He noted, however, that unless residents have their titles they would not be connected to the electricity grid.
Streets in the area will be constructed by the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP) later this year.
The Minister also pointed out that Government has been working with private developers to provide low-income homes. Minister Baksh stated that several financial institutions have been providing assistance, including the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), the National Bank for Industry and Commerce (NBIC), Demerara Bank and the New Building Society.
Government, in an effort to ensure that Guyanese have adequate land to enhance their lives, has embarked on a squatter regularization programme. There are approximately 145 squatter settlements countrywide and to date 114 areas have been incorporated under this programme. An additional 15 will be added this year.
The Ministry has been moving ahead with infrastructure development countrywide and 11 out of 12 areas are now catered for under a Government of Guyana/Inter-American Development Bank squatter settlement programme.
Today, the Minister also visited several sections of Sophia when he met residents and toured the area to inspect road works.
During the Minister's visit residents of several blocks at Sophia expressed satisfaction with the progress of infrastructure works in that area.
Minister Baksh and a team of Housing Officials toured the areas and met residents when they were given the opportunity to air their problems.
Minister Baksh told residents that Government wanted to ensure they pay their beneficiary contributions so that works could be effected in the area. Road works are presently at a standstill due to difficulties encountered by the contractor in acquiring bitumen.
Residents highlighted the problem of drainage in the area and the Minister stated that the contractor presently constructing the road would assist in clearing the trenches.
Minister Baksh noted that additional roads would be constructed this year through the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP).
In some sections, residents are receiving a good supply of potable water and expressed their satisfaction with this. He urged residents to ensure payment of conveyancing fees so that they could receive titles to the land they occupy.
In other blocks, residents are getting low pressure and Minister Baksh said workers from the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) are visiting the area to check on this.