| … threatens revocation of titlesThe turnkey homes being developed at PerseveranceThe pace of development in several East Bank Demerara communities was met with dissatisfaction by Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott, on Tuesday when he made an impromptu visit to several of the areas.Accompanied by a team from Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and the Ministry, Scott zeroed in on several commercial zones as well as areas being developed by the government, and those handed out to private developers by the previous administration.Areas between Diamond and Eccles given out to Chinese-owned BaiShanLin, Windsor Estates, Courtney Benn Construction Services, Nabi and Sons, B.K International, Dax Constructing and People’s Progressive Party’s Member of Parliament (MP) and Odinga Lumumba came in for inspection.The team also visited Perseverance Phase Three, where 1,000 turnkey homes are being constructed, the Remigrant Scheme, and areas to be developed behind Little Diamond and Prospect.For years, applicants have complained that they were awarded house lots but could not occupy the lands for reasons beyond their control. This is despite the fact that these areas were earmarked for development years ago.The absence of main utilities like electricity and water, no drains or drainage system,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, incomplete roadways as well as interconnecting streets, huge plots of land waiting to be demarked, high bush and occasional plots of land made into graze-lands for animals, are some of the situations that obtain in various East Bank Demerara areas. The roadways leading to most of the communities were damaged. But it was at the Remigrant Housing Scheme, located north of the Mocha Main Road that was worst.Officials observed that the roadways there were filled with potholes. The area was overgrown with bush despite promises that the area would be exclusive, having infrastructure and facilities that rivaled the normal communities.Having paid for house lots priced between $4M and $7M,Wholesale Cheap Jerseys, those residents are still waiting for spacious road reserves that will include asphalted carriageways and concrete sidewalks, street lights, concrete drains and modern amenities promised with exclusive residential living in the prime real estate location.At the Remigrant scheme, officials said that it had passed the interest stage, but since the first phase of infrastructural development during the period of 2011 – 2012, nothing has been done.It was noted, too, that the house lots for the Covent Garden Housing Scheme have all been sold but the lack of water and electricity has been stymieing inhabitation.Also,Wholesale Jerseys From China, the area handed to Courtney Benn for housing development remained abandoned. A huge empty plot where only a bridge leading to a locked gate was seen represented the extent of the works done. High bush was a prominent feature in that particular area. It was noted that the area was given over for development more than four years ago. The housing area at Farm, too, was awaiting development. There were no lights, water or roadways.While BaiShanLin has a huge spread completely fenced off at the back of Providence, works had ceased for the past two years. There was no activity when the team visited. Nearby, Dax Constructing has been given a large plot of land to develop but when the team visited, only one house was constructed in the area.The government learnt that Dax has been selling the lots and pushing the owners to develop their own homes. The area he owns covered 26 large house lots but they are yet to be developed.Also, in face of Dax’s area,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, the development at Nabi’s has been some amount of progress,Cheap Stitched Jerseys, according to officials. Works were ongoing at some of the houses. At Perseverance, 200 of the house structures being developed by the government are currently up but most are still being constructed.Officials have said that 30 families have moved into the area even as works continue and the Ministry is pushing for those homes to be completed by the end of the year.Speaking to the media after the inspection, Minister Scott made it clear that he was unhappy with the pace of the development. He highlighted the need to immediately establish a well to serve the East Bank areas since access to water was one of the major issues highlighted.Water, the Minister emphasised, is one of the most critical aspects in terms of development and the well will be costly. The next phase will be to introduce electricity in the areas. Roads are also high on the government’s agenda.The Minister explained that the government’s policy is to have cohesive development. “What existed in the past is what I would call a collapse system.” According to Scott, while the past government pushed for the distribution of thousands of house lots, their focus will be on pushing for a better life for all Guyanese.“We are into places where people can live as a village, where we can make people see it’s not a house lot. We are about a community, people becoming one. In that way a nation can develop,” he said.“In some cases, people were being ripped off. They have a (house) lot that they can’t identify or they can’t move forward.” The APNU+AFC government intends to ensure that once people acquire their house lots, within months “they must be able to see progress. They must be able to see a road; they must be able to see a drain,China NFL Jerseys, they must be able to see lights being put in.”Minister Scott expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of development that is taking place in some private developers’ areas, especially at the area BK International sold to BaiShanLin, Dax and Caricom Insurance, since these areas were allotted to the investors since 2011.The Minister, during the walkabout,Authentic Jerseys China, had recorded his dissatisfaction with the works completed at the Remigrant scheme. Scott emphasised that the government must work to fulfill the promises made to Remigrants.Scott added that the government inherited a backlog of about 25,000 house lot applications. |
