Longstanding housing matters in Region Two being addressed – Min Croal 

Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal has said his ministry is actively addressing the myriad of longstanding housing matters affecting residents along the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Among the issues being addressed are double allocation and illegal construction on land owned by the state or private individuals.

There were also issues in the past where persons received bogus receipts after processing land titles at the local office, and paying for their land.  

“So, we have a dedicated staff that is going to the various communities where we have had these reports. They have had to examine what is happening there, take the picture, do the assessment report and we have been resolving those matters,” the minister explained, during an interview with DPI on Sunday.

Minister Croal singled out the Charity and Lima Sands areas where a large number of those illegal activities were discovered.

Investigations have since been launched in those areas to amicably resolve the matters.

“We have been addressing those and the feedback is very positive. We haven’t addressed all because of these things take time but we are working aggressively to get it done,” he asserted.

In April, the ministry’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) officially opened a new office in Anna Regina, with the necessary staff and tools needed to deliver quality services to the citizens within the region. The ministry is also recruiting an enforcement officer for the region.

“This is to complement the staff in the department so that we can have monitoring of the various schemes to ensure that we don’t have some of these issues repeating itself,” he noted.

The government, through the housing ministry has expanded its housing programme along the Essequibo Coast, with the development of new housing areas at Charity- St Joseph, Buxton, and Onderneeming Phase Four.

The ministry has also collaborated with the Attorney General’s chambers to engage residents who have been occupying lands for decades without legal documentation.

Minister Coral said the aim is to ensure housing and related developments are done in a more structured manner across the region, in keeping with the PPP/C Government’s strategy to create sustainable communities.