House lot owners claim Ministry delaying land occupation

House lot holders, especially those on the East Bank of Demerara, are not too happy over the delay by the Ministry of Housing and Water in completing infrastructural works to facilitate the construction of their homes. A number of house lot holders at Herstelling, Covent Garden and Farm have indicated that although they have paid for their plot of land several months ago, they are yet to set eyes on them. In fact, they are claiming that all they keep hearing from the Housing Ministry is that the land is not ready. “Why pressure us to pay and we still cannot even see the land they sold us?” one frustrated house lot owner asked. Kaieteur News understands that some house lot applicants have paid for their land as far back as in 2012 and were promised occupancy within a few months. However, every time they contact the Ministry, they are told that infrastructural work was still ongoing. According to one of the potential homeowners at Herstelling, since 2012, only three persons have had the courage to start constructing homes in the new housing area. “You could count the number of persons who trying to start building their homes on one hand, although they were allocated the lots two years ago,” the individual told this newspaper. He said that for him, the Ministry of Housing has never contacted him with a view to identifying the plot of land he was allocated. He was lucky to get a glimpse of the map of the area and has since been able to identify the land he had paid for in 2012. “They keep pushing you to pay for the land and they are not ready for us to build,” the man declared. At Phase Two, Farm, also on the East Bank of Demerara, house lot holders don’t even know if their lots still exist. “They told us at the one-stop shop that you have to pay the money for the land within six months and yet after eight months, I cannot see my house lot. They gave me a lot number and still they are telling me that they are not ready yet,” a female plot owner told Kaieteur News. She said that she was advised to wait until the ministry contacts her with a view to taking her and showing her where her plot of land is. The situation is the same at Covent Garden, where a number of persons are anxiously waiting to start the construction of their homes. One person told Kaieteur News that she paid $300,000 to the Ministry of Housing last year and was told that she will be contacted as to when the land would be ready for occupation. She said that after several months, she grew impatient and called the ministry early this year, only to be told that it would be ready in May. When she contacted the ministry early this month, officials there pushed the date back to June. “I already pay for water, I sign up with GWI, I pay for transport and I still haven’t seen my land. They are taking people money and this look like next year we gon get to start build,” the woman lamented. This newspaper contacted the Ministry of Housing yesterday and was told that the land would now be ready by August due to continuing infrastructural work. “The contractors are still working on the area,” an official explained. House lot owners pointed out that despite the delay by the Ministry of Housing, that entity is quick to repossess land if persons fail to build within a certain time.