-Ali
Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali says that the PPP/C never received house lots at Bath Village as gifts and had to go through the same application process that all other parties interested in obtaining a house-lot have to go through.
In an interview last Thursday in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Ali stated that the AFC has been purposely misrepresenting the facts as it relates to the granting of house lots to the PPP/C at Bath Village, West Coast Demerara, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a news release. “The statements that these house lots are a gift are totally inaccurate. Any house lot granted by the CH&PA (Central Housing and Planning Authority) has gone through an application process,” Ali is quoted by GINA as saying.
The AFC had said in a statement that it received information which indicated that the PPP/C “has received from itself” three parcels of land in Bath Village, West Coast Berbice and it demanded an explanation from the housing minister.
The AFC said the PPP received the three parcels of land “by way of transport from the Government of Guyana to the [PPP/C] lots 153, 154 and 155 in Bath Village.” The advertisements for the passing of the transports for these house lots were published in the Official Gazette of August 1, 2009 as numbers 17, 18 and 19 for the County of Berbice.
“As far as research permits, the AFC has been unable to find a corresponding precedent in Guyana or the Commonwealth Carib-bean of the political party which forms the government being given Transport or Title to lands,” the release said.
Ali said further that the AFC’s statement that no non-governmental organization (NGOs) other than the PPP/C had been granted a transport or title to lands was incorrect.
“Over 500 house-lots have been granted to various NGOs by CH&PA, including to Habitat for Humanity, Food for the Poor, churches, mosques and temples,” he stated, adding that if the AFC or any other organization wishes to apply for a house lot, his ministry encourages them to purchase the necessary forms and make an application. The minister was in Region Two as part of a team that handed over eight housing schemes to the region’s local authorities.
The schemes were handed over at a simple ceremony held at the Anna Regina Town Council, and include Pomona, Onderneeming, Bush Lot, Lot 1 Anna Regina, Henrietta Richmond, La Belle Alliance, Lima Dairy and Lima Pasture.
In addition, 633 house-lots were handed over to the Anna Regina Town Council, 227 to the Good Hope/Pomona Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and 51 to the Riverstown/Annandale Neighbourhood Democratic Council, the release concluded.