The first sixteen of some forty-four persons who were squatting at Pigeon Island, East Coast Demerara are now legal landowners.
On Friday, Susan Rodrigues Minister within The Ministry of Housing & Water presented the Certificates of Title to beneficiaries, in keeping with a commitment of His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali in August 2022; to deliver the documents by year-end. Director of Community Development at the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CHPA), Mr. Gladwin Charles and other officials from CHPA were also present to facilitate the process.
Some of the recipients have been occupying the area dating back to the 1980s. Efforts to regularise were made since 2002, including a review of the area in 2015 by President Ali, during his tenure as the Minister of Housing and Water. The process was then stalled under the previous government and restarted in 2020 under President Ali. Minister Rodrigues, therefore, emphasized that the distribution is a significant achievement for the government and residents.
“We want to empower people by giving them that document in their hand, [whether] an allocation letter, an agreement of sale and ultimately a Title or Transport,” said the Minister.
