Why does it take 4-6 months to issue a transport when house-lot owners are warned they must build within six months or face dispossession?

Dear Editor,

Regrettably there seems to be a credibility deficiency at the Ministry of Housing. Both officers and general staff display a blatant and offensive arrogance. Recently one of the senior staff  raised her hand inches from my face to deter me from talking to her. She was cognisant of why I sought an audience with her because last February she promised me my transport in July, and that was her way of dealing with me.

In November 2010 I purchased a middle income lot at Schoon Ord, and paid in full ($500,000) even before I drew a number. Today, eight months later, I cannot get my hands on my transport. And that was the reason I wanted to talk to her because she misled me when she said I would get it. It has become clear to me that some people in responsible positions in Guyana do not work for the public at large. They think themselves so important they expect the people who depend on them for service to be submissive to the condescending behaviour they exhibit. And this is the behaviour that is prevalent in the Ministry of Housing and Water.

I would say of the staff that they should be better trained. They must be made to realize that they are public servants, and not dictators, and without the public they would have no jobs.

Why should a transport take 4-6 months to be issued, when most are in need of the very document to obtain a mortgage and to build? We should all be very wary of the stipulation: Build within 6 months, or the land would be repossessed. How can anything be repossessed if the selling price has been fulfilled? And why should anyone build a house in an area that provides no electricity or phone services, as is the case at Schoon Ord? The ministry should be fair and honest when dealing with the citizenry and have staff that are proficient.

Yours faithfully,
Jorge Bowenforbes