Cabinet has approved Absolute Grants of Land Titles to several Indigenous communities as recommended by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, which has responsibility for the Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) Project.
Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP), Joseph Harmon, said that Cabinet, in approving the granting of land titles, iterated its commitment to the completion of the ALT project and gave the assurance that the process will continue until all the indigenous communities receive their titles in accordance with the law.
According to Harmon, the grants approved are as follows:
(a) For an extension to existing communities: Mainstay, Waiaka, Mashabo and Capoey.
(b) For the establishment of their legal boundaries: Parabara, Rockstone, Tasarine, and Kangaruma-Asura
All the approved grants have been made with the conditionalities based on their respective peculiar circumstances, the official said a post-cabinet press briefing held today at the MOTP.
The ALT was facilitated by the Amerindian Act of 2006, that provided for land titling and extensions. It was scheduled to commence in 2013 and end in 2016 under the auspices of the Government of Guyana, and the United Nations Development Fund, with funding in the sum of US$10.7M provided from the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund.
The project was extended from 2016 to 2018 and subsequently, from 2019 to 2021.
Of the 68 interventions identified, Harmon said that 21 demarcations have been completed, and 18 Certificates of Title issued, while 45 investigations were completed: with 32 for extensions and 13 for new villages.
The ALT project seeks to enable Amerindians to secure their lands and natural resources with a view towards sustainable social and economic development. It is expected that titling of communities will strengthen land tenure security and the expansion of the asset base of Amerindians, enabling improved long-term planning for their future development.
