Over 180 Cotton Tree residents receive land titles after decades-long wait
Over 180 residents of Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice yesterday received Certificates of Title, granting legal ownership of lands they have occupied for decades, the Department of Public Information (DPI) reported.
The land title documents were handed over by President Irfaan Ali, along with Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, at a ceremony at the Cotton Tree community centre ground. Ali highlighted the ongoing effort by the government to complete more than 4,000 titles for residents in Cotton Tree and its surrounding areas.
He pointed out that the entire cost of this process, exceeding $100 million, has been fully covered by the government, DPI said.
Acknowledging challenges faced in the process, President Ali assured the community that the government is actively working to address the shortage of land court judges.
He announced that the government is examining the possibility of engaging temporary judges to collaborate with the judiciary, implementing a mechanism to expedite the processing of the remaining land titles within the next six months.
Furthermore, Ali stated that the Attorney General will be examining the existing backlog within the land court system.
The President said ongoing efforts are in progress to regularise all outstanding areas in Region Five within the next eight weeks. This includes areas such as Shieldstown and Bushlot, where 166 households are slated to receive their titles.
As part of the national land regularization programme, the Attorney General said that in addition to the 3,000 persons to get land titles in Cotton Tree, an ongoing effort in No. 46 village is set to grant titles to over 300 families, Mon Choisi, 300 families, Everton 320 families, Number 5 (Zeelust Village) 400 families, and over 300 families in Number 7 village.
In Bath Settlement, more than 60 titles have been distributed to sugar workers, following agreements of sale from GuySuCo spanning nearly three decades, DPI reported. The initiative extends to Enterprise on the East Coast Demerara, where several individuals have received titles.
In De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara, 60 titles were awarded to sugar workers.