Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali said an extensive investigation has been launched into allegations that some persons have been selling the low-income house lots allocated to them and if the allegations prove true the lots may be repossessed.
Ali made this disclosure to Best Foreshore squatters after outlining the ministry’s plans to regularise the area. The ministry plans to consolidate existing housing schemes and it has found that persons in several of the housing schemes are selling the lands allocated to them. This is particularly prevalent on the East Coast, at Tuschen and some other areas where persons are said to be using “power of attorney and ‘irrevocable’ power attorney,” the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.
Ali told residents that there is no such term as an ‘irrevocable’ power of attorney and that the clause in the agreement of sale prohibits allottees from selling their land. He said the ministry will be taking strong action against persons who have sold their land as allottees pay “less than 25 percent of the development cost. So if you are to pay the real market value of the land that is allocated to you it will be approximately five times more.”
Ali said too, “If you are caught selling these lands that are allocated to you we are going to repossess them and you will stand a chance of not being reallocated a lot and for those of you who are buying you also will not escape the net because we are going to repossess the land and you will be charged a penalty based on the market value of the land. This is non-negotiable.” The ministry is encouraging persons who may have information about the perpetrators, as well as those who have been posing as its field officers to commit this offence, to report the matter to the ministry so that it can be addressed.
Additionally, Ali charged officers entrusted with public responsibilities such as Justices of the Peace and Commissioners to Oats and Affidavits to conduct themselves with integrity. He urged such persons not to conduct business regarding the disposing of land allocated by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA). “We are going to document these cases against public officials who are aiding and abetting the process, it is a very serious phenomenon and we are going to deal with this matter strongly by writing to the Office of the President on the issue of breaches,” he said.
