Protection in place against exclusive housing developments for foreigners – Minister Rodrigues

–includes restrictive covenants in agreement of sale

Amid concern from some sections of society about housing developments for foreigners that would exclude locals, the Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, has assured that there is protection to prevent land purchased from the Government being used for such housing developments.
On Thursday, President Dr. Irfaan Ali was cited in sections of the media indicating that private developers acquiring land from the state would not be allowed to convert the land into exclusive housing developments for foreigners.
In an interview with this publication on Saturday, Minister Rodrigues explained the safeguards in place to ensure this does not happen.
“The applicants have to come through our system; so, it’s those who have a pending application in our system. And for you to have an application in our system, you have to be Guyanese. In order to prevent that from happening, we would have to state in an agreement of sale what they can use (the land) for,” she declared.
“Just like in any other agreement of sale for any purchase of a piece of land, there can be restrictive covenants in the title or transport to prevent such types of developments,” she explained.
In an invited comment on the issues, the Minister noted that such an occurrence is unlikely to happen, especially since a clear direction has been articulated by the President. However, she also explained that any person purchasing a private piece of land has more freedom in what they can do with it. “But as long as it’s coming through the Ministry of Housing, we will enforce the President’s instructions,” Minister Rodrigues said.
It was only recently that Guyana Deep Water Operations, a subsidiary of SBM Offshore, the Dutch shipbuilder that has built the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels being operated by ExxonMobil in Guyana, indicated its intent to lease a gated community for its employees, along with a recreational facility.
A Request for Information (RFI) was issued, seeking companies with the capacity to develop this gated community, keeping local content in mind. The RFIs that are submitted would be used to come up with a list of qualified bidders prior to the issuing of a tender for bids to actually develop the community.
“We are seeking residential houses, one- and two-bedroom apartments for single persons/families, along with a recreational facility. The location of the gated community must have direct road access, be free of obstacles, and have an appropriate surface for parking. Preferably, houses and apartments should be ensuite, i.e., each bedroom has a dedicated bathroom,” the notice said.
“Recreational facility must have a gym, swimming pool, bar, tennis court, soccer field, squash court, and any other amenities relevant to such a facility. The facility should include security features such as fencing, lighting, security bars for windows and doors, security hut with a washroom facility. The facility should include safety features such as emergency egress, fire extinguishers, alarm system, CCTV system, and smoke detection alarms,” it also said.
President Ali was referenced in sections of the media warning that the Government would not allow exclusive housing developments for foreigners to be built in Guyana, and noting that these lands should also be available for Guyanese.
The development of housing schemes that are exclusively for foreigners and shut out to locals is a thorny issue. Guyana itself has a history of such developments, as was the case with Watooka in Linden (Region 10), where an exclusive and isolated community for staff of the Canadian-owned Demerara Bauxite Company (Demba) and their families was built.
Self-contained, with stores, recreational facilities, a school with Canadian teachers, cinema and other amenities, Watooka was owned and operated by Demba, and systems were set up that have been described as class-based and designed to shut out all but Demba expatriates and their dependents.
Passes had to be issued for locals to gain access to the community, and only children of expatriates were allowed to attend the Canadian-run school. Locals were reportedly even excluded from the swimming pool and the Watooka Club Guest House.
There were even constables to enforce security in the community.
This situation continued until 1971, when Demba was nationalized by the Guyana Government.