The Guyana government will accelerate processing of thousands of housing applications, other land applications, and regularise informal settlements, said President Irfaan Ali today, unveiling a wide package of measures following a two-day Cabinet outreach.
The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission will deploy a special project team to address outstanding applications in the region, where the number of applications, at 289, “is far beyond the supply available,” Ali said.
An occupational survey team will also regularise residents living on lands held by defunct co-operative societies, some of which have stalled for years.
“They own or have in their possession, hundreds of acres of lands that persons have been occupying without leases. We have to take steps now to vest these leases in the occupants’ names,” the President said.
On housing, Ali said 70 families from Number 46 Village will receive legal titles by June 2026.
Housing demand in the region stands at 8,500 applications, and Ali said billions will be needed to satisfy demand through 2030.
The government also plans to regularise some squatting settlements in the region.
Beyond land and housing, the government’s two-day outreach ended in President Ali announcing three new integrated service hubs to improve access to public services, upgrades to markets and waste management, and better security measures such as CCTV cameras, among other things, during a 90-minute press conference accompanied by Cabinet.
The wider Berbice area is set for major development, as the government recently concluded a Berbice Development Summit where, in partnership with ExxonMobil, it courted potential investors for a massive industrial hub that will be powered by offshore gas that the oil major will have to extract and pipe to shore.
