Fifty two informal settlers at Pigeon Island, East Coast Demerara are expected to receive their Certificates of Title by the end of 2022.
This announcement was made by Hon. Susan Rodrigues, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water during an outreach at the community led by His Excellency, President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Tuesday.
Several other Minsters of Government were also at the outreach.
Minister Rodrigues was accompanied by Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), Mr. Sherwyn Greaves and a senior technical team from the agency.
The land, which has been occupied by informal settlers since the 1980s, is currently under the purview of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL). Several attempts were made to regularise the area since 2002. In 2015 President Ali, who was the Minister of Housing and Water at the time, ordered a review to determine which portion of the area could be regularised.
Following President Ali’s accession to office in 2020, CHPA conducted an inventory update. The Ministry of Housing and Water approached NICIL for the transfer of the land to CHPA; and the vesting order has since been published in the Official Gazette.
Minister Rodrigues stated that CHPA is expected to receive the Block Transport in two weeks, afterwhich the land will be subdivided and processing of land titles for residents will commence.
Additionally, the Minister pledged to address all pending applications of residents in the area
With the Government’s move to regularise the area, the President announced an $80 million investment for the upgrading of roads and other infrastructure.
