Forty-five residents of Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara on Wednesday received their Certificate of Title, after years of waiting, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC; Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, MP, and representatives of the Land Registry and the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund, handed over these titles.
According to DPI, the Attorney General said that many of these residents, who are either sugar workers or descendants of, have been waiting years, and in some cases decades, to receive their land titles.
“The allotees came and they occupied the land; they built their houses. They would have liked their titles to access loans, but that was not the case. They lived, some of them may have died and they never got the title. Some may have migrated and they never got the title”, he said.
He said that since taking office, the Government prioritised distributing land titles to citizens.
“This Certificate of Title is a document of great legal and commercial value. Legal because it certifies you in law as the owner of that property and nobody can take it away from you unless you have acquired it by fraud. It is that protection that you pass on to generations.
“It is this title that you can take to commercial banks and lodge as a collateral to borrow money to build or to send your children to acquire higher education or whatever endeavours you wish to pursue”, he told those gathered.
Rodrigues highlighted the importance of regularisation and titling of lands, which she says is just as critical as home ownership.
“Sometimes we only look at the bigger picture, the macro picture. But sometimes it is these little community issues that only needed someone to take a moment to look at, to see the importance of delivering this to 45 families that would make the world of difference to them, and that would significantly improve their lives”, she said.
Puran Ramnarine told DPI he had been waiting over five years to receive his land title in Non Pariel. He spoke of some of the challenges he faced prior to him obtaining his land title.
“I had difficulties acquiring funding to build my home. I had been saving, but savings not do much. One of the first things that I am going to do now that I have collected my title is to acquire funding to complete construction on my home.”
Retiree, Karen Narine, told DPI that she has been waiting for over seven years. Like Ramnarine, she encountered challenges in getting a bank loan to finish her home.
“I had to run around a lot and eventually I had to complete my house in phases, but nonetheless, I am thankful that I have obtained my title,” she said.
