Affordable housing for all, establishing sustainable communities” was the theme under which the Housing Ministry and its Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) staged the eighth One Stop Shop on Friday, September 2, that saw around 500 persons receiving house lots.
Addressing hundreds gathered at the Uitvlugt Community Centre Ground, Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali stated that government believes in the equitable distribution of resources, wealth and development.
He argued that, despite the misinformation peddled by critics, his ministry remains committed to ensuring that all Guyanese accomplish the dream of owning a home.
“We are going to work steadfastly to ensure that we help Guyanese meet that dream of owning a house lot, because there is empowerment both socially and economically derived when this occurs,” Ali said.
A section of the huge crowd at the One Stop Shop exercise at Uitvlugt Community Centre
Ali explained that the investment at Zeelugt is testimony to this resolve, and was brought forward by two years at minimum because of the growing demand for housing in Region Three and across the country. He said that the new Zeelugt Housing Scheme would have benefitted from comprehensive development, and soon residents who take up occupancy will realise that light, water and roads are already in place in certain parts.
“We have already advanced Gy$60 million dollars to GPL for them to begin the installation of electricity network, because we want to make the process easier for new home owners”, Ali explained.
The housing minister reported that there are many challenges in getting the housing scheme up and running, with respect to works done by the contractor. He informed those present that his ministry has already instituted liquidation damages for the delays experienced because of the contractor. “I want to send a public message to all of the contractors that work with us, using this incident as an example, because we don’t only expect good quality work, but also we expect contractors to deliver within their contractual stipulations,” a stern Ali announced.
He reported that the housing sector generally continued to benefit from large sums of investment and funding from the public purse.
Minister Ali noted that the investment is significant but there is still a lot of work to be done. He related that the occupancy rates are growing countrywide as more Guyanese are given the ability to own their own homes.
“All of this could have never been possible without the hard work of committed and dedicated staff. I am cognizant that it’s not about government, but rather it’s about you, the people, because we are working to improve your lives”, Ali said emotively.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Myrna Pitt, explained that the ministry continues to work assiduously towards improving the delivery of housing to Guyanese to match the increasing demand. She urged Zeelugt residents to make the most of the One Stop Shop experience, as the ministry had teamed up with its respective housing and development partners, citing the banks that were present.
Each lot developed costs the government approximately Gy$650,000.
Over the last 10 years, government has invested more than 23 billion dollars in the housing sector in Region Three. In addition, an estimated 23,000 house lots have been created and distributed in the region, and more than 94,000 Guyanese have become land and home owners. The occupancy rates have been increased, according to statistics provided by the Central Housing and Planning Authority.
House lots have been made available and distributed at Leonora, Tuschen, and Bell West. Another 1,000 house lots will be handed out at phase two of the Zeelugt Housing Scheme.
