See below the full statement issued:
The Ministry of Housing and Water remains committed to providing equitable and unbiased service delivery to all Guyanese. Furthermore, the Ministry would like to take this opportunity to remind citizens of our open-door policy, which allows members of the public to obtain information and be updated.
With an increasing demand for house lots and housing options, as well as a backlog of applications, the Ministry has developed a number of steps throughout the years to guarantee that allocations are made in the most transparent manner possible.
One such method is the issuance of a temporary lot number for land in an area where the cadastral plan has not yet been registered and/or infrastructure development is in progress.
This number is assigned to an allottee in the form of an Offer Letter; however, once the plan for the area has been documented, any changes to the first lot number assigned are conveyed to the allottee and reflected on any subsequent documents processed. The new lot or parcel number appears on the Allocation Letter, Agreement of Sale and Certificate of Title or Transport.
During the lot identification process the accurate information pertaining to the assigned lot and parcel number is provided to the allottee.
In order to avoid confusion, building on the wrong lot, or making false claims, the Ministry advises the public to utilize the channels available, which includes properly reading documents issued by the agency, checking with the Surveys Unit, where maps are available and using our general inquiry system.
Recently, an allottee went public with claims of her lot being reassigned to someone else. This accusation is utterly false and upon investigations, it was found that like hundreds of other applicants, the allottee was issued a temporary lot number and therefore subjected to the necessary change.
The allottee received the temporary lot number and Offer Letter for Lot 14, Pln. Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara in 2019 and made full payment. However, no infrastructure work was in place at the time. Subsequently, after the finalization of the cadastral plan, the correct name of the block of land was adjusted to Pln. De Endragt, resulting in the allottee being assigned Parcel No. 450 at Pln. De Endragt, East Coast Demerara. The allottee was issued an Allocation Letter and Agreement of Sale confirming Parcel No. 450 at Pln. De Endragt as her permanent lot number; and was not requested to pay any additional fees. She was also requested to surrender the initial Offer Letter, a procedure which was not completed by the allottee. To this end, the Ministry reiterates the importance of compliance with administrative procedures.
Contrary to claims, no houses or other structures were erected on the allotted land at Parcel No. 450, Pln. De Endragt (see attached image), and the allottee retains the ability to construct her home. Guidance for the identification of the land can be provided by the agency’s Surveys Unit.
Once again, the Ministry of Housing and Water strongly urges the general public to utilize our online inquiry system if needed or our office, which remains open for walk-in queries.