Hundreds of land titles for distribution in coming months as gov’t launches ‘Operation Clear-Up’

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday announced a new campaign titled ‘Operation Clear-Up’ which is to be spearheaded by the Ministry of Housing and Water and targets the regularisation of several areas across the country.

The announcement was made as the President delivered on a promise to address a 49-year-old land issue for scores of people living at Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo.

He made it clear that the intervention at Vergenoegen was a small part of a larger plan to regularise several areas that are not owned by the Ministry of Housing and Water and others that are owned by the government but is overrun by squatters.

Already, hundreds of land titles are ready for distribution in the coming weeks, the President said.

“All over the country this activity is ongoing,” Dr. Ali told residents during brief remarks.

At Vergenoegen, some 150 lots were identified for regularisation while 194 residential lots were verified for allocation and will be processed for land titles.

Another 24 lots were also verified but were found to have ongoing commercial activities and will be processed differently.

The residents who were living on untitled lands at Vergenoegen, some for almost five decades, met with President Ali recently and received his commitment that the matter will be sorted.

The same day, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal led a team to the area to conduct an assessment.

Croal said the timely delivery of the President’s promise was made possible through the successful collaboration between the Ministry, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) and the Land Registry.

He said concerns about infrastructure are also being addressed with contracts already awarded for road projects.

“This is not the only area, there are a number of areas in Region Three that we are working on.

“In the next two months, 139 persons will their receive certificates of title In Region Three,” Croal said.

He was keen to note, however, that some areas cannot be regularised because of where squatting was allowed to fester.

Croal singled out Parika where persons are living on the riverbank and sea bed and said there will be a separate relocation programme for those persons.