CH&PA clarifies that 182 acres remain state property and that presidential signature on Order No. 180 reflects ministerial duty, not private acquisition.
The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has pushed back sharply against recent reporting by Kiskadee Watch, according to Kaieteur News, characterizing allegations that President Irfaan Ali personally purchased 182 acres at Plantation Onderneeming as “erroneous, grossly misleading, and without basis.” The housing authority stressed that the lands in question remain state-owned properties held under Transport No. 130 of 1876, and that the president has not personally bought, acquired, or transferred any portion of the property to himself.
The dispute centers on Order No. 180 of 2026, which the CH&PA describes as the initial regulatory step required to bring identified parcels under Guyana’s land registration system. According to the authority, this process is necessary to facilitate the eventual issuance of legal certificates of title to public beneficiaries. The CH&PA emphasized that the president, as the minister responsible for housing, is statutorily authorized to sign such orders and that doing so represents an exercise of official duty rather than evidence of private transaction.
The order covers two parcels totaling approximately 182 acres. Parcel 936 comprises roughly 26.85 acres in a regularised area currently occupied by informal settlers; bringing it into the registration system is intended to advance the process of granting eligible residents official certificates of title and securing their tenure. Parcel 1793 measures approximately 155.13 acres and has been designated for a new government housing scheme, with registration serving as a prerequisite for issuing title deeds to individual land applicants and housing beneficiaries.
The CH&PA expressed concern that what it characterizes as a routine legal and administrative process had been portrayed as a private transaction. The authority stated that the process was designed to facilitate land ownership and secure tenure for Guyanese families. Officials described the allegations as “reckless, misleading, and wholly unacceptable,” arguing that suggesting the president personally purchased government lands while exercising his authority as the responsible minister misrepresents the nature of the administrative action.
Guyana’s land registration system requires statutory orders to bring parcels into the formal registration process. Order No. 180 of 2026 is part of the standard procedure for regularizing informal settlements and preparing government land for public housing schemes.
Land tenure, housing security, and governance transparency are critical issues across the Caribbean region, where informal settlements and questions about state land administration affect thousands of families seeking secure housing and property rights.
Written & Edited by Orlyn Edwards. Published by Caribbean Air Force Media.
Category: News · Island routing: Guyana