Given the rising number of cases involving housing fraud that have come to light in recent months, Minister of Housing, Colin Croal firmly stated that his ministry will be establishing stringent mechanisms to clamp down on these and other matters.
During a recent engagement with prospective home owners, Croal explained that it is only the Ministry that can issue land titles for housing. He cautioned persons desirous of having their own plot of land to only apply through the ministry.
“We want to make it very clear, it is only at the ministry at Brickdam, regional offices or when we have special exercises like the ‘Dream Realised’, where payments are done…Anywhere else you’re making a payment, can’t be to the CHPA,” Minister Croal said.
He continued, “We have strengthened our investigative as well as our enforcement arm so in our employment now is somebody with experience, one former senior person from the hierarchy of the Guyana Police Force, for which we’ve been undertaking a number of investigations to go after,” the minister said.
Croal highlighted that while the administration and the ministry have faced mixed reactions from the public with regard to squatting, he stressed that the act by its definition, is illegal.
“Taking occupancy of somebody’s land is illegal… We evaluate whether it’s an area we can regularize–because many of these (squatters) that exist are probably as old as myself—or if we have to relocate then we indicate so,” Minister Croal said.
Against the backdrop of housing fraud, 29-year-old André DeFreitas, of the East Bank Demerara (EBD), was recently released on $250,000 bail for attempting to collect $100,000 from someone to secure a house lot for them.
The man was nabbed by the police during a sting operation. DeFreitas had claimed to be the owner of Prime Investments. Through that firm, he claimed that he had a contract at the Housing and Water Ministry.
