By any standard, Guyana’s housing drive could be regarded as the best model in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) region. Of course this is not the view of local stakeholders alone, it is the view of a well-respected Caribbean statesman, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves.
Dr Gonsalves, who was in Guyana on a recent visit, was quoted in the Guyana Times newspaper as saying that our housing development is an “extraordinary” one and should be shared with the rest of the region. The Vincentian leader was taken on a tour by the Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali along the East Bank Demerara (EBD) corridor to witness firsthand what this country is doing in various sectors of development, especially in the area of housing.
In applauding the policies and initiatives undertaken by the government to make access to housing affordable for its citizens, Prime Minister Gonsalves said he does not know of any programme of this magnitude anywhere else in the Caribbean.
Testimony to his confidence and belief in the model, Dr Gonsalves even extended an invitation for local private developers to travel to St Vincent and to work towards further enhancing the housing development there.
Considering the fact that he is an outsider who has no political interest in Guyana, we are certain that these comments would serve to silence the critics, both local and overseas, especially those who are bent on seeing everything from a negative perspective. To these persons, nothing good can come out of Guyana, so we are pleased that someone of such caliber would give such positive reviews about an important area of development in the country.
As echoed by Dr Gonsalves, there is a lot that the rest of the Caricom region could take from Guyana’s experiences, especially as it relates to housing development. The current administration has boasted, and indeed it has a right to be proud of the transformations that are taking place in the housing drive.
A number of new housing schemes are being developed across the country, while those that are already in place are being expanded or upgraded. The Housing Ministry has hosted a number of one-stop-shops where persons’ applications for house lots are fast tracked.
This is quite commendable, as Guyanese have become wary of waiting extremely long periods to access important services offered by the state.
Also, the criteria for land ownership were greatly relaxed. Now there is provision for every citizen, irrespective of social class or political or religious affiliation, once they satisfy the basic criteria to be given a house lot.
Additionally, the commercial banks have made it easier for persons to access loans for construction. Prior to this, one had to satisfy a number of criteria before he/ she could have accessed a loan to build a house.
Of note too is that when the government decided to develop large tracts of land for housing purposes, the demand for construction materials and other goods and services increased. As expected, this demand for construction material led to an increase in prices. Here again the government was cognizant of the impact this would have on low-income earners and as a result it took a number of steps to ensure that the impact was minimised as much as possible.
In all of this, we believe that the high level of development the country is currently experiencing, especially in the housing sector, is as a result of the excellent partnership between government and private sector. Kudos should therefore be given to both parties for the strenuous efforts they have made in ensuring that Guyana’s success story is now considered a model for others to follow.
While there are still many challenges to overcome, Guyana has indeed travelled a long road since 1992 when there was a return to democracy. Citizens must not take these achievements lightly.
