RESIDENTS who bought incomplete, faulty houses under the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government are wondering how much longer they must wait for the new government to rectify their issues, more than a year after moving into their properties.An audit by the coalition government has identified numerous inconsistencies with the entire programme that facilitated the Perseverance, “Turn Key” East Bank Demerara housing project. Residents say that several groups of ministry personnel have visited their homes, but nothing is being done.

“Different, different people just coming to your house. They not even calling or anything, they just showing up, coming in your house, say they checking and you never see them back,” a resident stated.
While homeowners declined to have their names published in the newspaper, they welcomed the Guyana Chronicle into their homes to show the substandard works that are still to be corrected. A single mother says her front and back doors pose grave security threats. Of the five locks on her front door, the mother said only one works. The back door is incomplete, since there is “a huge space” on its top half. A curtain and a tall cupboard are used to block the outside. The mother explained that once she and her children were locked in the grilled-up house and the front door could not be opened. A neighbour had to forcefully open the door. She also complained about having to fix the uneven floor herself.
Another neighbour showed the Chronicle how easy it is for someone to enter the houses through the veranda ceilings, since they were all built with that security flaw. They complained about incomplete septic tanks, flooding because of broken wall pipes and missing items from their homes. They pointed to many missing louvres and several faulty fixtures such as flex hoses, faucets, pipes and locks that had to be replaced. Some neighbours say their homes are still incomplete, because some are missing kitchen units, closets, unfinished floors, and walls among others.

The “middle-income” homeowners have paid half a million dollars to acquire the land the property is on, and over $4m for the small two-bedroom flat. Residents were encouraged to take New Building Society (NBS) loans that will see repayments of more than $8m.
The housing ministry’s audit also proved that several break-ins had occurred at the Perseverance bond which had 24-hour security and it was noted that the break-ins had not been reported to the police. When contacted, housing officials said any update on the progress of the housing project will be provided next week.