Dear Editor,
I wish to congratulate the efforts and hard work of the reporters and other staff of the Stabroek News in their endeavour to inform the public as events unfold around us. While these efforts are to be complimented, I wish to request that some adjustments be made and published so as to clear the air in relation to an article captioned ‘Lethem residents: Move key facilities from flooded area,’ by Gaulbert Sutherland that was published on Monday, June 27.
Firstly, I did speak with Mr Sutherland who had called seeking an update on the after-flood situation in Lethem. I was misquoted in the section under the caption ‘CH&PA,’ where it was reported that I said: “the Central Housing and Planning Authority allocates land for residential purposes, but does this from the city…”
This should be corrected to read: ‘What the Chairman said was, while the CH&PA does not have an office in Lethem, officials from the ministry would visit the region from time to time to conduct allocations, while in the past the Lands and Surveys Commission was responsible for identifying and issuing house lots. This was a better system in that applicants were easily identified by a Land Selection Committee, made up of stakeholders in the region, thus eliminating the possibility of duplicity.”
Thanks for your kind consideration in an early correction and republication to remove any misconceptions that may have arisen from the error.
Yours faithfully,
Terrence Boston
Chairman
Ireng-Sawariwau Neighbourhood Democratic Council
Editor’s note
Mr Sutherland did not suggest in his report that officials from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) did not come into the region; in fact he quoted Mr Boston as saying “They [CH&PA] will plan and come in and institute the plan.” He was also reported as observing that the “Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission previously did what the housing authority is doing now,” and then was quoted directly as saying: “With CH&PA running it out of this region, you don’t have a proper system.” Mr Sutherland’s report also recorded Mr Boston’s reference to the problem of persons getting multiple house lots under the current arrangements.