Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
Lands and Survey staffers to face the axe if illegalities found
Government on Monday warned of illegal squatting at Kuru Kururu and said that it was prepared to fire any of its officers if found to be involved in collusion.
The statements were made Monday by Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, during a meeting with residents on issues of squatting and conflicting land use.
During the meeting at the local primary school, he invited residents to help map out a strategy for the orderly development of the community.
Residents of Kuru Kururu during a meeting with Minister Robert Persaud.
Accompanying the Minister was Permanent Secretary, Joslyn McKenzie, and officials from the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).
Kuru Kururu has been developing at a fast pace over the years, but there has been illegal occupation of Government reserves.
During his address to the residents, Persaud also addressed the issue of illegal land ownership, as the residents complained that GLSC officials are giving out lands in an apparent illegal manner.
The Minister warned that Government will not and does not condone such illegalities and that land ownership must follow a specific process.
He said that the President is the only authority and the only office in the country that can grant lands. “We are just representatives…The policy is that we must ensure that there is equitable distribution of lands in any part of the country…Those who need lands must be able to access lands.”
“Even if someone is entitled, it is not a passport for you to go and break the law,” he said. Over the years, there have been complaints of officials from GLSC who had facilitated, encouraged and engaged in illegal activities, Minister Persaud said. A number of staffers have since been dismissed and others are under investigation.
“We are going to weed out and stamp out those officers within the Commission who are in one way or the other contributing to this problem.”
During the meeting, the Minister also outlined Government’s plan to implement a National Land Use Plan in the near future. He told residents that this plan provide for illegal land practices across the country.
It will also guide the use of land in a transparent and an open way. “The plan will also ensure that there is maximum use of every square metre of land in Guyana because a land that is rich in agriculture, tourism, or mining will be wasted if we use it for something else,” Minister Persaud said.
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