About 1,000 house lots to be allocated in two days
(GINA) The Housing and Water Ministry is continuing to place access to affordable housing at the top of the country’s agenda for national development. Many Guyanese can now have access to their own homes as the administration continues to assist in making it possible to access this essential social service.

Region Ten residents at the Housing Ministry’s One Stop Shop

Hundreds of Region 10 residents yesterday flocked the Housing Ministry’s fourth ‘One Stop Shop’ outreach which was taken to the community at the Linmine Constabulary Hall.

The programme, since its inception on March 30, has shown great success and a significant response from citizens. In excess of 3,000 transactions were processed from the three outreaches held recently in Regions Three, Four and Six, surpassing the target set by the Ministry for allocation of lots and titles.

Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, while noting the many barriers which have prevented potential home owners over the years from constructing their homes in the community, explained that the initiative is designed to improve the Ministry’s services through direct interface with the people.

“People only become agitated and aggravated when the problems are unbearable; …we in the Guyana Water Incorporated and the Housing Ministry strongly believe that the best solution for housing is a localised one that has been developed to meet the needs of the people,” he said.

The Ministry’s objective is to develop, process and allocate in excess of 17,000 house lots by December 2010.

The focus will be on every area where there is a demand, including Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven and Ten. He noted that squatting is also an issue which has been continuously raising its head in the region.

“Let us work together to avoid squatting…squatting brings with it a number of social issues that affect the development of people in the communities. When you have squatting, we are barred from putting infrastructure until the area is regularised. So we want you, the people who are going through this very legal process, to join with us in stemming the issue of squatting,” he urged.

Approximately 20 squatter settlements were identified during field work conducted by the Housing Ministry in which nine areas are to be transferred from Linmine to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

The Minister further disclosed that government successfully this year lobbied the New Building Society to reduce its interest rate for loans to build low-income homes.

“You can now have access to a $4M loan at an interest rate of 4.9 percent…this has happened at a time when we are experiencing globally a financial crisis, when lending institutions in the Caribbean and the world over have restricted lending…so we have that opportunity and we should make use of that,” he said.

Within the two-days, the Minister said about 1,000 house lots that are available will allocated to the region.

“We are going to start from the backlog, and based on the years of application as we clear the backlog, we will come closer to present day applications.”

The Housing Ministry, he noted, has realised that many persons cannot afford to make full payments for land, adding that a payment structure was implemented to assist potential home owners to acquire plots.

Chief Executive Officer, Central Housing and Planning Authority, Myrna Pitt, said that the CH&PA, in pursuing a process of continuous improvement, is committed to providing a responsive service that meets the needs of its customers.

In this regard, the CEO revealed that the water distribution network project in Amelia’s Ward Phase 1 has recently been completed, and the Authority is currently executing a $120M road project in Phase Two with water distribution network and electricity, to the sum of $132M and ear-marked to be completed this year.

She urged residents with allocations to have plans drawn and to complete the necessary preparatory work related to the commencement of house construction.

She noted the current level of occupancy in the Wisroc scheme is below the desired level and she urged them to occupy their lots.

“It is our intention to also strengthen the Regional Housing Offices by having them linked directly to the main database in Georgetown to allow for the timely processing of applicants and real time update of the main database,” she stated.

Regional Vice-Chairman Samuel Hooper welcomed the initiative, noting that it is an effort by government to improve living standards of the people in the Region.

The programme also included presentations by Senior Planning Officer, CH&PA Andrea Smith, who explained the procedures, building standards and requirements for persons who have been allocated.

General housing issues, including allocation and identification and payment of house lots, processing and distribution of titles and transports, and water concerns were also addressed.

The Housing Ministry will continue its widespread housing programme in several other regions which will allow many more Guyanese to have a home of their own.