Latest update February 14th, 2025 8:22 AM
Increase in demarcation fees puts Amerindian land titling project on hold – Minister
Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, explained that a decision by the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) to increase its land demarcation fees was among a number of issues that have hampered the progress of the Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) project.
Amerindian Affairs Minister,
Pauline Sukhai
Addressing the media at a virtual press conference on Saturday, the minister stated, that as a result of what she described as a steep increase in the land demarcation fees by GLSC, the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP) a major funding partner in the project has refused to disburse finances.
“We have a situation,” Sukhai stated, “where the GLSC raised its demarcation fees from 10% – 25%. The enormous increase was rejected by the UNDP one of our major implementing partners who has refused to disperse the funds effectively putting the project on hold.”
According to the minister, under new management, officials will be working assiduously to have the issue resolved so that the ALT project can get underway once again.
“We will also be engaging other stakeholders including the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, which I understand is still giving out mining permits in Amerindian land titling areas,” she said.
The ALT project was established in 2013 under a Management Unit within the Ministry to address Amerindian requests for titles and demarcation. The project was formed after Amerindian communities saw issues because the lands were being occupied by third party hosts.
The Amerindian Land Titling project, which sought to secure lands and natural resources for Amerindians, began under the previous PPP/C administration and was funded by $2.2 Billion (US$11M) UNDP grant.
The project ended in 2016, one year into the A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance for Change Coalition (APNU+AFC) administration; however, many communities were not selected for their land titling. The APNU+ AFC government had sought to extend the initiative, and $165 million was then designated to ensuring the remaining villages received their land titling.
However, by the end of 2019 many of the remaining villages still did not receive their titles.
Additionally, many villagers had protested the long wait for their land titles and lamented that the government had had a reasonable amount of time to ensure the project’s completion. Some villagers had also claimed that there was heavy mismanagement of the funds, although this was never proven.
Before demitting office former Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Sydney Allicock had announced that the project would be prolonged once more up to 2021. According to Allicock, that would have given ample time to complete the project.
Just last week, Executive Director of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) Jean La Rose called for the issue to be resolved. La Rose noted that as a result of the setback many communities saw disputes with lands that were supposed to be titled being awarded as mining blocks.
She emphasized the importance of proper consultations to ensure situations like these do not occur under the new administration.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Protest electoral tyranny
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- There comes a time in the life of a nation when silence is no longer an option, when the... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
