Not when you are dealing with contractors within Guyana’s construction industry.  The name of the game is rip-off.
The PPP/Civic’s housing programme is probably the lodestone initiative of this Government since its assumption to office in October of 1992.
What was once an unreachable, unattainable dream for most Guyanese became a very concrete reality. (Pun not intended).
A massive housing drive enabled thousands of working-class Guyanese to become homeowners, with all its attendant benefits.
The Government went several steps further to create enabling synergies where ordinary citizens, with no savings, and no hope of accruing any, especially while paying the very steep rentals being demanded by landlords, could access low-interest loans to build their homes upon the acquisition of titles and/or transports to their precious plots of land.
But then the horror story begins.
Some aspiring homeowners have opted to acquire pre-constructed homes in schemes where developers have entered into partnership with Government, which provides the land on which low-cost houses are supposed to be built for sale to potential homeowners.
But this has time and again proven to fructify in less than desired expectations in many instances.  The horror stories are many – walls separating from the main building, with crack appearing at different pressure points; plumbing coming apart; zinc sheets improperly secured. The list is endless and at times mind-boggling.
For those who choose to build from scratch, according to specified requirements – well, the astronomical labour costs belie the service provided, unless one has the time, and the knowledge, to personally supervise every aspect of construction.
Persons who have taken loans have found themselves with a few walls and a depleted loan account.
Contractors purchase the materials but often, through pre-arrangement, effect delivery to another job site.  Of course someone inexperienced in measuring lumber and other material would be none the wiser, because they most often accept the receipts tendered at face value.  Sometimes the contractors enter into agreements with lumber dealers and, where expensive hardwoods are billed, substitutes are delivered.  The lumber dealers and the contractors split the difference.
Carpenters and labourers are also diverted to other job sites while on the clock so, along with materials, the homeowner is also short-changed on the labour, for which they have to pay astronomical amounts.
While it is understood that Government has limitations to its funds and capacities, there needs to be instituted protective mechanisms that will ensure that the dishonest actions of builders do not derail Government’s laudable efforts in the provision of state lands to facilitate home ownership by the poor and vulnerable in society.
The law currently provides for a cause of action – breach of contract or negligence, in the event that a contractor does not deliver a reasonable quality of service for which he receives financial compensation.
However, the judiciary and its adjunct arms have proven to be traditionally slothful and, given the oftentimes pecuniary circumstances of the victims, the scurrilous actions of the home builders have almost always been allowed to go unpunished.
There is dire need for some agency to work along with Government and the New Building Society and other lending agencies to institute a programme where reliable, affordable, and knowledgeable labour is provided to those who access mortgages.
The skills development component of the Ministry of Education could work along with the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture to create opportunities to garner income while acquiring life skills.
The Guyana Prison Service, under the guidance of then Officer-in-Charge of the Georgetown Prisons, now Director, Dale Erskine, had initiated a programme whereby skilled convicts work for an income.  The Service has been providing blocks, linen, and uniquely beautiful furniture and cabinetry made from Guyana’s hardwoods and indigenous material.
Along with Food for the Poor, Habitat for Humanity, and other such organizations an advisory and support group could be established for the guidance and assistance in order to ensure curtailment of the prevalent syndrome of dishonesty by housing developers and construction contractors.
Government needs to re-look at the compound interest charged homeowners on loans, especially the poor and vulnerable, because they often end up paying in excess of $25 million for a $5 million loan.
This is a killer for the poor, especially single women, and many persons have lost their homes when, for some unforeseen circumstances they cannot service their loans, even though at times the original amount had already been paid several times over.
With all the interventions President Jagdeo has made to facilitate home ownership by the poor and vulnerable, he should re-look at the issue of compound interest charged homeowners, and create a new protocol for single women and other vulnerable categories of borrowers.  A revolving fund would solve the problem, where the same interest rates are charged, but not on a compound basis.
Minister Irfaan Ali has been restructuring policies to improve efficiency, accountability, and transparency, and in so doing the Ministry has discovered several cases of fraud.  Maybe this young Minister, who has already made an impact on this sector, will re-engage the financial institutions toward this eventuality.
There can only be winners if this fructify, because it would be in keeping with the Government’s continuum of development with a human face.