Process of cancellation of land leases at GL&SC is flawed

Several years ago, I, along with some friends and business associates applied for some house lots in Yarrowkabra and were given eighteen lots at the front of Yarrowkabra, opposite Sky Lark Resort. Unfortunately, the house lots were not all together and we were finding it hard to build as a group, so we asked other persons (outside the group) to exchange lots. Some persons (outside the group) were not willing to exchange land, even though at that time, the system allowed for the easy transfer of lots from one person to another. This caused some of the members to become disheartened and lose interest in the project - causing the group to break up.

Some time passed and about eight members of the group (including myself) received letters from the Guyana Lands & Surveys Commission (GL&SC), inviting us to visit the office. This we did and were advised that if we were still interested in developing a housing scheme in the area, we should go and see whether the lots we were given had been occupied by others or were still vacant. We checked and discovered that most of the land had been occupied by other persons. We reported this back to the GL&SC and they told us that they would relocate us. This they did, providing us with lots all together so that we could have built our houses as a housing group.

We cleared the land, which cost us a substantial amount of money. Again, members started to default, and being under the impression that the system was still the same, where lots could be easily transferred from one person to another, I allowed other persons who were interested in becoming a part of the housing scheme, to take up defaulters’ land to build on. After they started building, we found out that the system had changed, and land could not be easily transferred anymore. The persons who had started building on defaulters’ land stopped building when they found this out, hoping to get the matter resolved before continuing. We therefore sought the advice of the Lands and Surveys Department and were told that there was a clause in the lease, which stated that letters had to be sent to defaulters, requesting that they indicate their interest/non-interest in retaining legal right to the land they had been allotted, and giving them six months to reply. Leases also state that a lessee is in default if after two years nothing has been done with the land. However, nothing is ever done, and defaulters are allowed, even encouraged to continue as lessees. I am bewildered that this situation is entertained and encouraged.

A prime example is one that the Yarrowkabra Housing Group is currently experiencing. Several years ago, one of the original members of our Group indicated that he was no longer interested in the project and gave up his plot of land to another individual who came on board and had indicated his interest in that plot. We wrote to the GL&SC requesting transfer of plots from defaulters to new members and were subsequently told that the cancellation process was sent over to the Office of the President (under over the previous Administration (PPP/C) for approval. However, notwithstanding the several years that have elapsed since being told that the final approval was pending approval from the President’s Office, the aforementioned original plot owner was allowed to pay the requisite fees at GL&SC and be reinstated as the lessee of the plot of land, even though the individual it was given to had already built on it. Also, there are several other plots (maintained by the Group, but in default) that could have been reallocated to this original member.

What is going on in our beautiful country? How can we truly progress if our systems function in such ineffective ways? Why is GL&SC encouraging persons to own lands with the full knowledge that they have been in default for numerous years? The process of cancellation of land leases at GL&SC is either completely fractured or now non-existent. I wrote the current Commissioner of GL&SC requesting an audience with him to discuss our matter of concern, but have received no response.

Under this current Administration, with the help of Prime Minister, the Honourable Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Public Infrastructure, the Honourable David Patterson, our Housing Scheme received electricity and paved roads, for which we are truly thankful. However, if Yarrowkabra and other communities on the Linden Highway are to experience true development, the operations of the Guyana Lands & Surveys Commission should be scrutinized and possibly revamped. I recognize that the Government is currently preparing for elections in the near future and that this may be

considered a minor matter not worthy of their attention at this time, but I believe that looking into this now will have long-term benefits for the nation, especially since considerations are once again on the table for moving the nation’s capital to Region 10. This Administration should not allow the opportunity to regularize the operations of GL&SC to slip through their hands.

Yours faithfully,

Arthur Taylor

President - Yarrowkabra Housing Group