THE Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is working on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UN-Habitat’s Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme to create an inventory and assess the extent of squatting in Guyana.

This is according to CH&PA, Deputy Director of Community Development, Donell Bess-Bascom, during a recent press conference at the housing authority’s Brickdam office.
“There was an inventory done some time ago but it has to be updated; we need to know where these persons are squatting and who are the owners of the lands. This initiative will feed into settlement regularisation plans for Guyana and relocation because it is difficult for us to talk about squatting and not consider the issue of relocation,” Bess-Bascom said.
The deputy director added that some squatting areas would be regularised and converted into housing schemes while others such as Plastic City behind Vreed-en-Hoop, need to be relocated.

The 20 families at Broad and Lombard Streets will be relocated in two phases to Prospect, East Bank of Demerara.

“We have taken a very consultative approach to have the community entirely involved in the process,” Bess-Bascom said.

Food for the Poor Guyana Incorporated, a major partner in the project, has almost completed the construction of the homes which will be handed over in two weeks.
The beneficiaries will also receive the titles for their new homes.
Meanwhile, the deputy director noted that the CH&PA has approved more than 75 per cent of the applications it received under its Home Improvement Subsidy and Core Homes Support Project.

She said 2,005 applications were received for 2019. Of this amount, 1,551 were approved, with 1,112 for the Home Improvement Subsidy and 439 for Core Homes Support.
Bess-Bascom said the verification process was still underway nationwide and would end in early 2020.

Speaking about Sophia where the initiative was rolled out, she said they were near the completion of the beneficiary selection process.

“There were 618 applications received from Sophia alone with 87 becoming eligible for Core Homes Support and 456 for the Home Improvement Subsidy.”

She noted that the process required verification visits for every applicant and an eligibility assessment before they could be ranked as one of the most vulnerable cases.
“Persons can look forward to receiving information from CH&PA about which household they fall into; we are committed to this project and to ensuring we abolish destitution,” she said.

The programme covers areas in Georgetown; Industry to La Bonne Intention on the East Coast of Demerara; Eccles to Diamond/Grove on the East Bank of Demerara; and La Parfaite Harmonie in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

Eligible applicants for the Core Homes Support will receive a 400 square feet flat concrete building valued at $4M, with a down payment of $100,000 towards the construction. Those applying for the Home Improvement Subsidy receive a grant of $500,000 in materials.
The CH&PA/IDB collaboration was launched in November 2018 and looks to boost the standard of living of families with housing needs.