No payment for house lot should be made via MMG – Croal

…warns public of housing scams

Amid the increasing number of complaints being issued to the Housing and Water Ministry regarding financial scams, Minister Collin Croal has made it clear that payments for house lots are made directly to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
Reports are that several persons have been contacted recently by persons posing as staff from the Housing Ministry, and were told to make payments for their lands or housing unit via the GTT’s Mobile Money service.
Croal has since disclosed that there is currently no arrangement in place for persons to make payments via MMG for land, housing units, or any other services offered by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
He explained that the agency recognises the demand for housing is great and it presents an atmosphere for the criminal elements to thrive on persons’ gullibility.
However, he noted that as government work to deliver on its promise of 50,000 house lots by 2025, the general public must be vigilant and communicate directly with the CH&PA throughout their homeownership process.
“We do not have an MMG system for the payment of house lots, so if anybody else is telling you otherwise must know it’s something illegal. And for our listeners, if somebody picks up the phone and call you, you must ask yourself how come I am getting a call that’s not from the ministry? How come I am getting a call not from an official person?” the Minister posited.
As it relates to security, Minister Croal revealed that the enforcement department at CH&PA is being strengthened to resolve such issues.
Croal who was at the time addressing new homeowners at the Ministry’s Regional Office in Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara (WBD) also encouraged those who have fallen prey to such scams to not let perpetrators get away with this crime by choosing to follow through with complaints lodged to the ministry and Guyana Police Force (GPF).
“When you can persons for statements, then they provide any, say I don’t want to proceed further. But we can’t get persons to be convicted or be able to even charge if the police don’t get a statement to work with. So, we have to help each other too, its not just about complaining, it takes both ways for us to address this issue,” he urged.
The process of applying for house lots, land and units starts with an official application (which can be purchased at the Ministry’s head Office on Brickdam, for GY$200, a valid form of identification (passport or national identification card), proof or affidavit of income, TIN certificate, and marriage certificate if applicable.
These documents must be submitted to the CH&PA office directly, where applications are lodged following a short interview. These applications are then processed using a chronological method. Thereafter, payments are made to CH&PA under the various methods provided/ advised by the authority. (G1)