The recent announcement by the Housing Ministry that new lands for housing purposes will be developed in Regions 3 and 4 will be appreciated by most Guyanese because it marks another step in the provision of homes for our people.

These two Regions are densely populated ones and therefore the decision to seek new lands for housing development is most wise and timely.

Providing adequate housing is one of the most challenging global tasks, especially against the backdrop of the widening gap between the rich and the poor. These statistics provided by the United Nations provides a picture of what housing needs are like globally;

* About 1.1 billion people are living in inadequate housing conditions in urban areas alone (United Nations Centre for Human Settlements).

* In cities of the developing world, one in four households lives in poverty.

* Forty percent of African urban households are living below the locally defined poverty line.

* An estimated 21 million new housing units are required each year, in developing countries, to accommodate growth in the number of households between 2000 and 2010. 14 million additional units would be required each year for the next 20 years if the current housing deficit is to be replaced by 2020 (UNHCS).

* About 100 million people worldwide are homeless. (UNHCS).

Housing remains one of the focal points for development in Guyana, and the administration continues to expend billions of dollars on developmental works for incremental and unplanned growth. Construction and upgrade of roads, drainage and irrigation systems and installation of water and electricity are among the many interventions made to advance housing development.

The Housing Ministry, the minister said, is moving ahead in negotiating with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to find new sites for future development in Regions Three and Four, where there is a continuous increase in demand from applicants for house lots.

The Minister further stated that it is the Ministry’s hope that by the end of October, another 1000 low-income lots will be available in the Onderneeming Housing Scheme, where infrastructure work is also ongoing.

“This will put us way past our target set in the Budget where we have anticipated allocating approximately 1,500 house lots this year. We are way ahead of that target at the moment,” he said.

The Central Housing and Planning Authority will be executing infrastructure development in these areas at a cost of $1B to consolidate and upgrade the areas.

The development of these new areas will be definite boost to housing and a consolidation of the already formidable and impressive housing programme embarked upon since 1993.

Guyanese are definitely more pleased with what the government is doing in the housing sector having moved far away from the days when the Ministry of Housing was closed down and one could not even obtain a house lot application form much less a house lot.

The much touted 1972-1976 development plan of the government at that time promised to build 65,000 housing units however, that plan collapsed and only 13,000 housing units were built. Those units were given to mostly party comrades and sympathisers. As a result of the abandoned housing programme there was a huge demand for house lots which ended up into widespread squatting.

Therefore when this government assumed office the task to house the Guyanese people was indeed a herculean one but it responded in a most prompt and appropriate manner to fulfill the housing needs of this nation. And for this all credit must be given to the government as well as those who are directly in charge of managing the housing sector.