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The upward spiral of land prices in Guyana

Oct 03, 2012 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Constitutionally every Guyanese is entitled to a piece of land. For the past twenty years, Guyana has increased its land distribution to the populace and has been rewarded handsomely for that. The ministry boasted of the profits it has returned to the Consolidated Fund. That’s great news. It’s worth pointing out that there are still many Guyanese without land and that is not for the want of applying to the ministry to acquire a piece.
The land distribution method seems to be skewed as was highlighted in a report commissioned by the ERC on land distribution along ethnic lines. Now the one-stop-shop method of selling is a good avenue for skewing the distribution even further, not only along ethnic lines, but along economic lines.
For the most part, the government would develop the land and parcel out selling to the populace. The price that prospective land owners faced was the cost the government paid to develop the land and the premium that the government attached for their efforts. Now that price structure has changed with the introduction of the third party system know as developers. These developers have their own lands and plenty of it.
The government has always been able to finance these projects and has delivered on them, so why now this developers’ syndrome which has impacted negatively on the cost of homeownership to the populace?
I don’t know since when Guyanese were unable to build their own homes? There is always an uncle or brother who has the skills to assist in home-building, reducing the cost for home ownership. Guyanese always built their homes at their own pace and owed the bank less than they otherwise would have. Now there is a housing bubble in Guyana fuelled by low interest rates and an increased availability of land. This bubble must be managed, and not be abused by government officials and these so-called developers who are bidding up the price of land in Guyana, making it even harder for those who can’t afford to over-leverage with banks. There are already signs of over-leveraging in homeownership by the now increased rate of banks selling properties repossessed in the newspapers.
Guyanese need to take a stand against unjust and crony decision-making by our appointees to manage our resources. Let the administration know that we are not standing for these artificial bidding up of prices and the continued skewed distribution of land, whether it’s along ethnic or financial lines.
Away with the developers and let the price of land and home ownership remain stable. The criteria for land and home ownership should be adhered to strictly, and not be abused by a phony one-stop-shop gig where the Minister’s decision is final.
This arrangement – the one-stop-shop – is a good source for abuse and corruption. Those who apply first should get without prejudice. There should be a land audit to weed out those who have two and three plots up and down Guyana.
Those lands should be repossessed and redistributed to those who have not yet received. Land distribution is an economic and social project that should be beneficial to all Guyanese, as is etched in our constitution.
Malachi James

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