After years of waiting, residents of Plantation Hope to get land transports, titles

Residents, in some 55 households, who have been occupying lands at Plantation Hope – Cum Annexis on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) for decades will soon receive their Land Titles and Transports, according to the Ministry of Housing and Water.

According to a press release from the ministry, the Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal met with several of the residents at the Hope Estate Compound on Saturday.

“Today, we are here committed to bringing this aspect of the ownership to completion for you and your families,” the Housing Minister told residents according to the release.

Through Saturday’s activity, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) initiated the verification of documents, which Minister Croal noted is one of the first steps in the land titling process.

The initiative was well received by residents, who noted that they feared the longstanding issue would never be resolved. Forty-eight-year-old Rajkumarie Budhu is one of these residents. She stated that she has been living at Plantation Hope – Cum Annexis all of her life and is relieved that her life-long wish to possess ownership will finally become a reality.

“It’s a very long time, we born and grow here and we didn’t get nothing and we thankful that today, we finally gon’ get we title and everything gon’ be so good,” Ms. Budhu was quoted as saying.

Her father, Parasram Budhu, who is 69 years old, also voiced his contentment with the work of the Ministry, as he too has a portion of land. He described his experience without an ownership document to the parcel of land as challenging, since it has limited his abilities to develop the land in the way he desired.

Another resident, Ms. Malinie Bhola, has been residing on a portion of the land for over 18 years. Ms. Bhola is a mother of five and she stated that for her, receiving her Land Title/Transport will aid in the provision of a better life for herself and children.

Plantation Hope – Cum Annexis was originally a sugar plantation bought after the Indentureship period and repurposed for coconut cultivation. It became the Hope Coconut Industry Ltd. in the 1970s and was managed by a Board until the government took over in 1992 and eventually phased out the coconut cultivation.

The Housing Ministry noted that the land has since been developed into a housing scheme with close to 400 lots.

Importantly, Minister Croal reportedly announced that in 2022, the Housing Ministry plans to allocate a number of house lots in the area, as part of its flagship ‘Dream Realised’ Housing Drive.