A total of 115 residents of the Fitz Hope, Amelia’s Ward area in Linden on Thursday signed their agreements of sale for house lots they were allocated over the years.
The agreement of sale gives individuals legal ownership of their lots. Once this is obtained, the processing of the Certificate of Titles commences.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Sherwyn Greaves spearheaded the process which was undertaken during an outreach in Region Ten.
Speaking to members of the media, Greaves said a total of 487 house lots were allocated in the Fitz Hope, Amelia’s Ward area.
However, he pointed out that some challenges were experienced in the development of the area due to squatting by some residents.
So to address this, officials from the Ministry of Housing and Water last week visited the area where the residents were regularised, paving the way for the issuance of the agreement of sales.
“…We were held back from getting to this stage because of some squatting issues and making sure that when we reach this stage, persons don’t end up with any hiccups.
“The titling for your lot is a big stage in the step towards home ownership. Now you can move on to the bank and get your mortgages to move on to build your homes and owning a title shows ownership for the land,” Greaves said.
With significant development ongoing in the housing sector, Greaves reiterated that there is no need for persons to squat since there are enough allocations.
“When we develop a scheme, it has to be developed in uniformity…A lot of times we don’t want to relocate persons and we try as best to regularize them where they are but it’s not always possible”
“So for us to bring the scheme into uniformity, sometimes hard decisions have to be taken and it delays the process…So we want to reiterate to persons there is no need to squat. There is enough allocation for everyone. Everyone will be serviced,” Greaves explained.
In fact, he pointed out that over the past three years, the ministry has sent in excess of $1.1B in infrastructural works in Region 10.
And, according to Greaves another $2B will be expended in the region this year for works including the preparation of construction for Young Professional houses.
Many of the beneficiaries told the News Room that they had waited for years for this moment.
“This was long coming and I thank god that we finally getting through.
“I would say it’s a big achievement because growing up we never really owned anything. So I am glad that we will be able to build a home and leave something for the young ones that coming up, Ovid Ferrell said.
For Dawn Murray, receiving her agreement of sale in her hands is one of the greatest achievements in her life.
“I feel great…it’s been a long process…it’s a start…It’s one of the greatest achievements in my life for me,” Murray said.
