Years of waiting, in some cases more than two decades, culminated on Wednesday with the distribution of certificates of land titles to 45 of 53 homeowners in the Enterprise, East Coast Demerara community.
Several issues had hampered residents from having total ownership of their lands bought through the Sugar Welfare Fund.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) was prevented from transferring the lands to the Sugar Welfare Fund due to taxes owed to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the local Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC). This hindered GuySuCo from getting its compliance.
When these concerns were raised with the government, in a collaborative approach, taxes from GRA were waived and a limited certificate of compliance was issued paving the way for the preparation of the certificates of 53 land titles.
Only 45 persons received those titles on Wednesday with outstanding paperwork at the Land Registry stalling the remaining eight. During a simple ceremony, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC said it was part of the government’s broad homeownership agenda to ensure that these land issues are sorted.
He said as simple as the activity is, it was major for families whose ownership of lands have now been recognised and legitimised.
“With these certificates, you are the owner of those lands and nobody can take them away from you.
“Your title is protected and it is the inheritance that you can pass onto other generations… you can take to it to commercial banks and lodge it as collateral and borrow money to pursue other endeavours,” Nandlall said.
The News Room caught up with Jasmattie Roopnarine, one of the recipients of the land titles.
“Is years since me husband get the land from GuySuCo. We build and we come in and we live but [I am] really glad that we have the title of it because that the most important thing.
“Knowing that you a live pun a land and it’s not yours. So I really glad,” she said.
Jailall Changur, a former employee of GuySuCo, was another recipient. He said he was happy that the “long wait” for his title is now over. “I feel happy,” he said in brief comments.
Meanwhile, Jaikaran Singh told a slightly different story. He was collecting the title on his daughter’s behalf who bought the land some six years ago from a man who has since died. “My daughter bought the land from a cousin who used to work for GuySuCo.
“Because the guy dead I was studying like I not getting it [the land title]. But the paper that we make at the lawyer was valid,” he explained.
