Housing Ministry addressing land titles backlog -Minister Croal

Minister of Housing and Water Hon. Collin Croal says the Ministry is looking to have the backlog in the issuance of land titles cleared by mid-year.

Minister Croal, in an invited comment to the media during his outreach in Region Six on Wednesday, said it is one of the issues frequently raised during his engagements with the public and the Ministry is focusing on remedying this matter in 2021. 

This applies to persons who have completed payment for their house lots and are awaiting their titles. Minister Croal said the process had been delayed due to the change in signature at the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission.

“We are hoping that by the middle of this year that we can have those backlogs cleared, including the new ones we made from awards last year for which persons have paid off.”

Additionally, the Ministry is building its capacity to effectively manage the allocation of house lots. Minister Croal said this is to minimise the loss of house lot applications in the system.

“It ought to be fully automotive so, when the information comes, they can enter it on to the system. For one reason or the other, there may be delinquency in terms of behaviour and work ethics, but I can assure Berbicians that we have put systems in place to rectify all of this.

The Regional Housing Office, I can also say that will be strengthened and we are paying some attention currently here because we have just completed an internal audit and we see some weaknesses and we are dealing with them,” he added.

The PPP/C Government intends to allocate 50,000 house lots over five years as promised in its manifesto. To date, through President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s Dream Realised initiative, over 3,600 house lots have been delivered.

Further, in the 2020 Emergency Budget, the Government implemented several measures to make homeownership affordable for all. This includes the reversal of the value-added tax on building materials to make building homes more affordable. Government also increased the mortgage interest relief ceiling for loans/mortgages to $30 million, which makes more money accessible for persons seeking mortgages.

Minister Croal also announced that the Ministry would be investing over $2 billion in infrastructural works in Region Six. This will be coupled with construction of 200 homes in the Region, in keeping with the manifesto commitment to provide sustainable housing solutions for the nation.