Providence private housing development in limbo…Payment delays hamper infrastructural works

Aug 02, 2015 News

With thousands of house lots being allocated each year by the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, Guyana has broken new frontiers in housing and development.
But the developments have been without the implementation of adequate laws and oversight to govern private developments.
Several plots of lands, especially on East Bank Demerara, were sold by the previous administration to a number of businesses.
It has been tough going. Reportedly, BaiShanLin, a Chinese logging and mining company which has benefitted from lands in Providence, is at a virtual standstill with its gated community.
Yesterday, several persons who paid for house lots at a 25-acre plot owned by NABI Construction Inc., complained to officials about the slow pace of construction there.

Residents making their concerns known to developer

A section of the development

During an onsite meeting with Ron Nabi, one of the principals, several of the house lot owners, some of whom are building, wanted to know about warning letters from the developer asking for outstanding payments.
According to Nabi, about half of the 114 house lots owners have monies outstanding. Many of them are also unreachable. It has also become costly to maintain the empty lots with bush overgrown in many of them.
Nabi had sent out letters warning that it will forfeit lands that were not fully paid up.
The company does not want to finish paving the internal roads in the community as ongoing
construction by the land owners could damage them. Some of the house lot owners wanted to know why the developer has not only failed to complete construction on fencing and road works, but now intends to forfeit land for which titles are still outstanding.
Amongst the homeowners were several prominent businessmen and professionals including lawyers, and they raised other logistical problems, including who bore responsibility for maintenance services such as garbage collection.
However, some division occurred as several homeowners who had maintained their payments and had collected their titles expressed the need for other homeowners to pay their dues to the developers, in order for progress to be made.
In addition, calls were made for a Home Owners Association to be formed in order to ensure that policy decisions concerning the community could be effectively made.
The issue of drainage was also raised, as the community suffered some amount of flooding. According to the developer, industrial and commercial establishments along the access road have also contributed to the drainage woes by blocking up their own drains.
Of recent, the housing sector has seen a boom in gated communities, with investors such as BaiShanLin receiving huge tracts of land to develop.
Despite this, there have been complaints from home owners that Guyana’s laws do not adequately address gated communities and the responsibilities that Neighbourhood Democratic Committees (NDC) s have towards them.
BaiShanLin, through its subsidiary company, Sunset Lakes, has been developing some 100 acres of land behind the Providence stadium but work has seemingly come to a standstill.
In addition, homeowners at Windsor estates have also raised several issues with the company, including shoddy work and missed deadlines, and the company is actually involved in a court action with homeowners.
These gated communities, which seek to provide fenced, residential areas for primarily professionals are first facilitated through infrastructural works including construction of streets, drains being dug, bridges and culverts built and water mains laid. After this, lots are marked out and allocated.