Yarrowkabra Housing Group’s inquiry into the operational systems of GL&SC

Sep 19, 2019 Letters

---

DEAR EDITOR,

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
loose 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 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 still vacant. We checked and discovered that most of the land
had been occupied by other persons. We reported this back to 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 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 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 (underr the previous Administration (PPP/C) for approval. However, notwithstanding the
several years that have elapsed since being told that the final approval was pending
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 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 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 scrutinised and possibly revamped. I recognise 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 regularise the operations of
GL&SC to slip through their hands.

Arthur Taylor
President
Yarrowkabra Housing Group

---

---