Vergenoegen residents to get land titles in 2 weeks

Residents of the Acme Housing Scheme and the Railway Embankment (Parcel 137) in Vergenoegen, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) will soon be receiving their land ownership documents as the Government moves to regularise the area.

This was following a meeting with President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday morning during which a number of residents from the East Bank Essequibo community indicated that they are looking to move away from the co-op society structure in place and acquire individual titles for their lands.
They also spoke to the Head of State about developing the scheme.
At that meeting, President Ali was accompanied by Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal; Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall and Director of Presidential Affairs, Marcia Nadir-Sharma.
The President subsequently discussed with his Cabinet Members, providing solutions to the concerns of the residents.
Consequently, Croal led a team to Vergenoegen to engage residents there on Thursday afternoon, when he informed them that they will be getting their land titles within the next two weeks.
Attending the meeting alongside the Housing Minister were the Director of Community Development at the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Gladwin Charles, and the Head of the Conveyance Unit, Esther Stephen.
There are some 65 lots within the Acme Housing Scheme, which began in the early 1990s as a co-op. However, the co-op does not possess ownership of the land, which affected the recording of the cadastral plan for processing of titles. CH&PA was therefore approached for regularisation and has since completed inventory.
With regards to the Railway Embankment area, there are another 65 lots, according to the block and occupation survey. The inventory has been completed and Block Titles obtained.
Additionally, the sketch plan was also submitted to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) to obtain mutation parcel numbers for submission to the Land Registry. Upon completion of the cadastral plan, CH&PA will then commence the title processing.
The Housing Minister informed the residents that the Ministry will conduct an exercise in the community for the processing of Agreements of Sale and Certificates of Title, following which the titles will be presented to the respective residents.
“We are committed to completing that task…and ensuring that you finally receive that ownership document,” Croal assured the residents.
Further, he encouraged the persons to work with the agency to ensure a seamless process in the coming days.
Meanwhile, in keeping with the commitment made by President Ali during Thursday’s meeting with the residents, the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry will also be addressing infrastructure development in the areas.
Nevertheless, Croal outlined that the regularisation of the two areas in Vergenoegen is a crucial aspect of the Ministry’s comprehensive 2023 Regularisation Programme for Region Three. He highlighted that over 270 plots of land are scheduled for regularisation in various locations across the region including Good Hope Railway Embankment, Philadelphia Railway Embankment, Barnwell, Zeelugt, Plantation De Willem, and Plantation Tuschen.
Back in March, the Housing Minister had warned squatters along the river beds and sea defences across the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region against squatting in those areas. He had noted that while regularisation efforts were being undertaken in the region, the sea defence areas cannot be regularised for living.
Instead, Croal outlined that massive housing developments are being undertaken in communities such as Anna Catherina, Cornelia Ida, Stewartville, Edinburgh and Meten-Meer-Zorg and so persons should explore these areas to apply for lands.
As part of the move to push the local housing drive, the Ali-led Administration has rolled out a number of initiatives to help persons build their own homes. These include the Government’s housing assistance programme with local banks to provide low-income loans and pre-built homes as well as the steel and cement programme. (G8)