The Housing and Water Ministry said it has surpassed its 2011 house lot allocation target of 7000 as it distributed another 240 house lots during a ‘One Stop shop exercise at the ministry’s Brickdam office on Tuesday.
The house lots allocated on Tuesday were for the new Leonora Housing Scheme, West Coast Demerara.
Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali told those gathered at the exercise that the investments made by the government to put in place the necessary prerequisites for developing the new Leonora scheme has exceeded Gy$85 million. The housing programme, he said, forms one of the most important pillars in the government’s development drive in the social sector.
“I am very happy we have been able to complete the Leonora development long before the end of the year… this is an important investment since it represents yet another commitment by the administration to improve the lives of its citizens; and if you look at the average per capita, we would have invested Gy$ 650,000 on each lot,” Minister Ali said.
Region Three, he said, benefited from more than Gy$15 billion in the housing sector to ensure that residents benefit from house lots and the attendant services.
This investment, he added, has created more than 24,000 house lots, benefiting more than 97,000 people.
Minister Ali said that the housing sector in Guyana, over the last five years, has seen tremendous growth, both in the private and public sectors, and government’s efforts to bridge the infrastructural gap will help to create social and economic competitiveness.
Government, he said, understands the critical role of home ownership in transforming people’s economic stability and improving the family unit, and thus continues to make necessary investments to afford more Guyanese the opportunity of owning their homes.
He also reflected on some of the progress achieved as a result of ‘international building expo’ whereby “owners would have taken advantage of the opportunity to view the wide range of materials, designs, and accessories that are currently available on the market to make their dream home a reality”.
In addition, he said that the community of Leonora will also benefit from massive road rehabilitation under the Community Roads Improvement Project (CRIP).
“Under that same programme with the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Stewartville/ Corneila Ida, we will also be doing 49 roads, a total 24.36km costing in excess of Gy$240 million,” the minister said.
Minister Ali also informed the gathering that several other communities in the region will also benefit from rehabilitation works under the miscellaneous road project totalling Gy$108 million.
He urged residents to occupy their lots in a timely manner and to make good use of the facility being provided by the government in their respective schemes.
Against this background, he said that government remains committed to development and advancement of the social sector and thus will continue to invest resources to provide access to basic facilities, including housing, education, sanitation, road, water, and electricity.
Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Chief Executive Officer Myrna Pitt said that the One Stop Shop strategy implemented by the ministry has enabled applicants to speed up the process and preparation to start constructing their homes. The scheme will benefit approximately 9000 people. The infrastructure works for scheme are nearing completion and installation of electricity will commence in early January.
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