Land titles to be given after decades to over 300 Walton Hall residents

Decades-old land issues at Walton Hall and Jib villages, Essequibo Coast, Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two),were addressed by an outreach team led by Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, on Saturday  Accompanying Nandalall was Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, Regional Vice Chairman, Humace Odit and Prime Ministerial representative, Arnold Adams.

They stopped first at Walton Hall, where the Attorney General announced that over 300 families will receive land titles/transport for lands they have been occupying for decades. This process, he said will be facilitated by the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) and the Office of the Public Trustee, which falls under the Attorney General’s chambers. Nandlall explained to the residents that the lands were previously owned by a cooperative society whose members passed away. Therefore, the intention is to move the transport from a singular transport vested in the name of the co-op into individual transports for persons who are occupying land.

“The first step in the process is to get the lands surveyed, do a plan, individual plan to demarcate exactly where you are living, and then to begin the process…what is of crucial importance is that you indicate to the persons who drawing the plan the name that you will like the transport to be issued in,” Nandlall told residents. It was noted that similar issues were addressed at Jib village, where residents are occupying lands owned by the late A.P Singh. As such, a large portion of those lands are under the administration of the Public Trustee, since Singh had no relative laying claims to the lands. Meanwhile, a small portion falls under the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

The AG gave assurance to the residents that the process of regularisation will commence, which will see persons being issued legal documents for their lands at a minimum cost. “We (government) found a mechanism to allow the public trustee to come into the picture to help with the transaction, while at the same time achieving the objective, which is two- fold, giving you your title principally and giving your title at the lowest possible cost,” the minister disclosed.

Minister Nandlall disclosed that the residents have a major role to play in ensuring the process proceeds smoothly. He stressed upon them to ensure full cooperation with the GLSC and ensure they present themselves to sign the relevant documents necessary to move the process forward. Meanwhile, Minister Croal pointed out government’s commitment to ensure land related issues across the Essequibo Coast are resolved in a timely manner. He noted that the necessary policy mechanisms are being implemented in this regard.

Croal reassured the residents in the Jib/Paradise area, that the team at CHPA will work with them to ensure that the occupational surveys are completed in a timely manner, after which they will be issued with their titles/transport. “At the end of the day, we want you to have that document that signals ownership so that you can do other things with it like getting a loan for expansion, and that is why we are here today,” Croal explained.

Additionally, representatives of the GLSC, Office of the Public Trustee and CHPA were also on the ground providing guidance to residents on the process.