The main opposition APNU is calling for an urgent and independent inquiry into the house lots allocation process after complaints by citizens.
“Nothing less would restore the Ministry’s credibility in the eyes of Guyanese citizens, especially the poor persons who are trying to own a home,” the opposition coalition said in a statement on Thursday.
Over the last three weeks, several persons reported to the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and APNU offices in Georgetown, East Bank and West Bank Demerara, the frustration they have suffered in dealing with the Ministry of Housing and Water to secure land for housing. “Because of the volume of these reports we believe the problems in this sector are systematic and require urgent intervention,” APNU said.
On June 14th, the Ministry of Housing and Water invited persons who had applied for house lots to go to the National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara, to what was described as a ‘One Stop Shop,’ where they would acquire land titles.
According to APNU, citizens were issued with letters of allocation that notified them of the value of the house lot which was being offered to them and advised them to go to the National Stadium and prepare to pay half of the sum determined as the price for the house lot they were offered. These house lots ranged in value from $300,000 to $1.2 million dollars.
At least 30 persons who reported to APNU offices, the statement said, gave a summary of what transpired. They said they were all given letters of allocation. However, while they arrived at the National Stadium at about 6am on June 14, they did not leave until 2am on June 15.
APNU stated that on their arrival at the stadium, persons were given numbers and told to wait for their numbers to be called.
According to the statement, some persons showed to APNU their numbers up to 2012. It said that as late as 6pm on June 14, only 400 numbers were called, and as a consequence, at that time over 1000 persons were still waiting for their numbers to be called. However, many of these persons were left disappointed.
“Persons who were allocated house lots in the $300,000 range were then told by Ministry officials that they had to pay $900,000 or $1.2 million for available house lots. The result is that the hopes of many Guyanese citizens were dashed by the incompetence of the Ministry of Housing officials,” APNU said.
“The spectacle of hundreds of Guyanese citizens leaving the Guyana National Stadium in the dark of the night with sums of money ranging from $150,000 to $600,000 in cash was a clear manifestation of a system gone horribly wrong,” it added.
“All of this in the face of a boast by the Minister of Housing, Mr. Irfaan Ali, that ‘anyone who would want to say that the Ministry of Housing and the [Central Housing and Planning Authority] have not evolved to be the most dynamic public or private organisation in this country, I am sorry but they are avoiding a fact,’” APNU said.
It added that some persons have given APNU sworn affidavits concerning various sums of money that were demanded of them by officials in the Central Housing and Planning Authority.
