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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM 317 EBD sea defence squatters to be relocated within 6 months
…as 784 squatters regularised in 2022
A section of the sea defence squatters during the consultation with the Central Housing and Planning Authority
Housing Minister Collin Croal
With 784 squatters having been regularised in 2022, the Government is continuing its efforts to get squatters illegally occupying Government reserves into their own legally obtained homes by engaging squatters on the sea defence reserve along the East Bank of Demerara.
These squatters reside at Little Diamond, Great Diamond, Grove, Herstelling Sea Dam, Farm Sea Dam and Covent Garden in 317 structures, including 57 occupied by Venezuelan immigrants. According to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), they will all be relocated within six months.
Addressing the issue, the Central Housing and Planning Authority on Wednesday said that, in keeping with a commitment made by President Dr Irfaan Ali, informal settlers residing along drainage and sea defence reserves on the East Bank of Demerara were engaged on relocation by the Housing and Water Ministry and the Public Works Ministry’s Sea and River Defence Board on Wednesday.
“The reserves, which fall under the purview of the Ministry of Public Works, are regarded as ‘zero-tolerance’ areas, and are therefore unsuitable for housing development. Continuous occupation will impede drainage works, which can result in flooding and also affect access to critical areas,” CH&PA said, adding that squatters were also able to register for the house lots and housing units during Wednesday’s exercise.
Housing Minister Collin Croal has made it clear that the relocation process should be completed within the next six months. The Minister also emphasised that Government’s response to squatting is not based on race or politics, but rather assessments carried out by the Ministry and other agencies to determine whether regularisation or relocation is the best option.
The squatters will get four options under the relocation and resettlement programme. These include 1) being provided with an existing turn-key housing unit ready to move in, 2) access to an area at Great Diamond with the necessary infrastructure works already earmarked for persons desirous of building homes, 3) allocations at other schemes and 4) the Venezuelan immigrants will be assisted with building through the President Ali-led Men on Mission (MOM) initiative.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CHPA, Sherwyn Greaves, explained that each household will be provided with the necessary assistance in order for them to relocate to wholesome housing schemes.
Regularised
The Housing and Water Ministry has been on a trend of regularising squatters. According to Minister within that Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, the Ministry has been able to regularise seven new squatter settlements last year.
Rodrigues said recently that, out of the 784 squatters they were able to regularise in these areas, 281 of them were issued land titles. The Minister further pointed out that strict procedures were followed during the relocation process, to ensure that those involved are engaged and given adequate time to relocate with the assistance of the Government.
“If you multiply that by four persons per household, we’re talking about over 3,000 people who have benefitted from these squatter settlements that have been regularised in 2022,” the Minister said. “We don’t just give them a land and say, ‘You have to move,’ and leave them on their own. We have a whole department at the Ministry called the Community Development Department that has a specific unit that deals with regularisation,” she added.
Since September of last year, Minister Croal had said that no new squatting areas would be recognised by the Housing and Water Ministry, as efforts move apace to issue titles for some of the current areas where this is an issue.
The Housing Minister had said that efforts to distribute titles continue even as the Ministry continues to allocate house lots. Pursuing a robust housing campaign, he had said, would ensure that there is no need for squatting. (G3)
BRIDGE OPENINGS BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, January 12 – 09:00h-09:45h and Friday, January 13 – 09:00h-10:30h.
FERRY SCHEDULE
Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily.
WEATHER TODAY
Light rain showers are expected during the day while thundery showers are expected in the evening. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius.
Winds: North North-Easterly to East NorthEasterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.
High Tide: 07:49h and 20:07h reaching maximum heights of 2.39 metres and 2.44 metres.
Low Tide: 13:39h reaching a minimum height of 0.83 metre.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2023 LOTTERY NUMBERS
F 09 16 18 20 21 27 07
FREE TICKET
DAILY MILLIONS
08 10 12
18
LUCKY 3
5 5 6
Afternoon Draw
DRAW DE LINE
04 08 09 12
23
Bonus Ball
1 2 7
Evening Draw
13 17
1821
PAY DAY
08 09 10
13 1
14 15
SUPER
PAY DAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2023
03 05 07 09 15
9
8
955
3
8
Afternoon Draw
Evening Draw 3X
Afternoon Draw
3X
Evening Draw
DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION.
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COMMODITIES
Indicators US$ Change %
Crude Oil $82.63 /barrel -0.05
Rough Rice $328.95/ton
London Sugar $549.00/ton -0.35 0.00
Live Spot Gold USD Per Ounce
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Indian investors urged to explore investment opportunities in Guyana
…as GMSA signs MoU with furniture manufacturing firm in India
Guyana’s ability to provide climate services was one of several investment opportunities pitched by President Dr Irfaan Ali in his presentation to the Indian Private Sector when he addressed the inaugural session of the Global Investors in Madhya Pradesh, India.
President Ali, who is on a State Visit to India, on Tuesday received the Pravasi Bharatiya Award, which is given to Indian diaspora members for their stellar contributions to society.
On Wednesday, he addressed the Indian Private Sector at the opening session of the Global Investors
in Madhya Pradesh, India. He highlighted Guyana’s resources, such as oil and gas, food production and, of course, its forests, for which carbon credits are fully certified and on the market.
“In relation to climate services, our forests store 19.5 gigatons of carbon. As a country, all of our carbon in that forest is now ART/TREE certified. Which means that entire carbon footprint is now available for sale. It has been certified, even to be used in the greatest sector, the aviation sector.
“As a small country, we have recently signed the first and largest deal on the global market for carbon credit with an end user, and much more than that, an end user who’s an oil company, Hess Incorporated,” the President said.
According to Ali, Guyana is positioning itself to be a leader in climate, ecological and biological services. He noted that Guyana does not just want to be a player, but to be a cornerstone in these areas, and more.
“And we invite you to be part of this transformation. Much more than this, because of our rich arable land, our abundance of fresh water, and our geographic positioning, we have the capability and opportunity not to be a player, but the leader in food production and security in the region Guyana sits. We invite the Indian Private Sector to look at this opportunity that gives them access to a market of more than 400 million people. We have all the investment vehicles and tools that you have here, and we’re ready to deploy it so that you can position yourself in a new market that offers exciting opportunities,” he added.
President Dr Irfaan Ali was a special guest at a dinner and business meet hosted by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, at Hotel Marriott in Indore
President Irfaan Ali during his Tata consultancy tour
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