– Minister Irfaan Ali
Today thousands of Guyanese, who never had a hope of owning their own homes, with all the advantages that provides, today reside in comfort under their own roofs, largely because of the PPP/C Government’s dynamic housing drive which is considered its stellar achievement, among many signature successes. Speaking to the Chronicle at his office in Brickdam, the Minister spoke on various matters relevant to the Government’s housing programme.
During that interview he addressed the issue of fraudsters whose activities corrupt the public’s perception of the operational methodologies of the Ministry of Housing and cited the recent instances of several perpetrators who obtained monies from persons with the false claim that they could enable them to acquire house lots, which is not probable because only the Ministry and its affiliate agencies are authorized to facilitate the acquisition of house lots in Government housing schemes.
The Minister disclosed that some of these pretenders are even linked to real estate agents, but because of the tightening up of the Ministry’s field monitoring system, four cases were identified this year where the police were called in to take action against the fraudsters.
The Minister assured that Ministry officials have been proven not to be complicit in these acts, because ‘sting’ operations by intelligence officers and an enforcement team have flushed out culprits who have no links to anyone in the Ministry, although in every case the pretender claimed to be working in the Ministry of Housing, with enough authority to be able to provide clients with house lots.
However, according to Minister Ali, these persons have been extracting large sums of money from members of the public under false claims, although they are in no way connected to the Ministry.
Even while two fraudsters were being prosecuted in court, Ministry officials, in collaboration with the police, conducted a sting operation  and penetrated the operations of a network on 7th April, discovering in the process another massive scheme of fraud, again involving persons purporting to be employees of the Ministry who had bilked numerous persons of millions of dollars under the pretext that they were in a position to acquire house lots for the victims.
During a search of the perpetrators’ homes, the Ministry’s field team, working in conjunction with the police, discovered false receipts, application forms, land titles, a laptop computer, and packets of money.
The Minister reiterated that there is only one prescribed and correct process of obtaining a house lot from the Government, and that is through the system of applying at the Ministry of Housing, which is followed by an interview preceding all allocations.  He stated that there is no field transaction, except for the fully-publicized one-stop-shop system, that requires the collection of monies or processing of documentation, nor is there any discrimination, once an applicant follows the requisite process.
According to the Minister, the process of obtaining a house lot from the Government has been made very simple, and now the process has even been expanded whereby persons can apply online.
Over the years the PPP/C Government has made many interventions to enable vulnerable and poor Guyanese to acquire their own homes, which includes drastically reducing the interest rates – from some 33% to an average 4.6%, eliminating the prerequisite of having to lodge a percent of the loan amount, but instead only having to produce the Agreement of Sale to banks; and providing several tax breaks for some items of construction materials.
Among the innovations of the young Minister currently holding the Housing portfolio is the online application, which requires an applicant to apply, after which they receive an automated response, which provides a date for an interview.  After payment of a $200 processing fee the interview is conducted.  Once all the documentation and information have been submitted, the applicant then awaits his allocation.
The Minister says that application and interview can be a one-day process for someone, providing that they have all the required information and the $200 processing fee, which is the only cost incurred at that stage by the applicant.  The only subsequent cost after allocation is the payment for the house lot, which in real, quantifiable terms, is quite negligible.
A house lot that the Government costs at $100,000 to assist with infrastructural expenses has a current market value amounting to millions of dollars, and Minister Ali alluded to the illegal re-sale of these lots for several millions of dollars, because persons who do not need the lots apply, then profiteer off this Government initiative that is meant to provide homes for vulnerable Guyanese.  The Minister warned that all unsavory acts will be addressed with zero tolerance and urged that every potential applicant adheres to the stipulated processes.
Addressing the criticisms from opposition elements who constantly carp at the price required for low-income house lots, Minister Ali said that if one looks at Government’s approach realistically, they would, if they are honest, concede that this housing drive is considerably subsidized because of the massive costs to install infrastructural facilities, which includes upgrading lands that were formerly structured as cane fields, putting basic road facilities and basic drainage systems in place, and installing pipelines and electricity.  He said that the actual lot costs $92,000, with an additional $8,000 for the processing of the transport.
At the time of allocation allottees are only required to pay half of that amount, after which they are allowed six months to pay the remainder.
The additional advantage provided by the acquisition of a Government house lot is that it becomes collateral and acts as the enabling factor of criteria for accessing loans from banks, which take into consideration the real market value of the land, which, as aforementioned, far exceeds the amount paid by the allottee for its acquisition.
At this stage Minister Ali complimented the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) for partnering the Government on the Low-Income Housing programme, especially in view of the fact that this bank has adopted the Minister’s one-stop-shop technique, which includes setting up day camps in housing schemes from which they process loan applications on the spot.  He said that all the commercial banks have been very co-operative with the Government in assisting with and
facilitating the empowering mechanisms for homeowners to acquire loans on easy terms.
However, he appealed for more collaborative initiatives with banks toward promoting essential services at the community level.
The Minister conceded that the banks have all cooperated with the Government in re-structuring their policies governing the interest charged on loans, the access to loans, and the expanded credit lines.  He cited the situation that obtained previously, which effectively debarred a large section of the society, especially the low income citizens, from accessing loans for the purpose of building their own homes, and said that this is largely a thing of the past, when there was no Government-led programme that gave persons access to lands that can be used as collateral for the acquisition of loans for home-building purposes.

Previous to the PPP/C Government’s housing programme, if one wanted a home they had to go through the private developers and the private sector and buy at very high rates.  According to the Minister, this is in keeping with the PPP/C’s programme, as envisioned by its Founding-leader, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, of development with a human face, development with equitable and pro-poor approach to growth, because this Government perceives equity as being very important to the entire developmental process.
Minister Ali clarified that the PPP/C Government’s Budget for social sector spending has continuously been increased, driven by the vision of the Government of having an equitable distribution of resources.  He reiterated the importance to this Government of bridging inequitable distribution of resources to proportions of equity, as much as is possible, whereby all citizens are enabled to live comfortable, secure, and even prosperous lives.
The Minister was adamant that these are the most fundamental functions of a Government, and the PPP/C Government has prioritized people’s welfare as of primary importance in the distribution of its empowering and enabling resources.
He reiterated that Government’s housing programme is a primary facilitator to human development, because every other factor that does not take into consideration the human element would ultimately be self-defeating and injurious to the Government’s developmental thrust.
Speaking of the structure of the nation’s economy, especially over the last two years, the Minister said that there has been a visible transformation and modernization taking place in the society.  He cited the opportunities that the Takatu Bridge provides for expansion of housing as well as commercial and industrial development, which creates and drives an economic pull factor.
According to the Minister, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is coherently working along with the Government in ensuring a Lethem development plan in particular, and a hinterland development plan in general, that reflects the developmental aspirations of the people, as well as the potential of the area, which runs in tandem with the policies of the Government.  Minister Ali says that this speaks to the transformation and the upward developmental mobility of an entire region.  This shift, he said, is extremely dynamic.
He cited Go-Invest, which is addressing the investment aspect, and the Tapachinga and Culver City housing schemes, which are being run by CH&PA, but said that all these entities work with collaborative endeavour toward the successful implementation of projects that would ensure that the development thrust of Lethem and surrounding communities fits into the national framework.
The new fibre-optic cable, according to the Minister, would open up opportunities that would bring a new and affordable energy into the development and enhancement of new sectors that are technology-driven, modern, and that would create drastic transformation – in the speed and efficiency when conducting business, in accessibility and dissemination of information, in bridging inequalities in terms of everyone affording and thus having access to the same technology and the internet, and in generating jobs through ICT call centres.
Alluding to the advantageous placement of Guyana in the strategic location on the cusp of South America and the Caribbean, of being the only Anglophone country in the continent of South America, our time zone, our proximity to North America, the Minister said that, after years of discussions and strategizing, these advantages are now being translated into practical synergies whereby there is a dynamic promotion and provision of enabling infrastructures that is driving the Government’s development trajectory even higher, and at a faster pace.
These factors, according to the Minister, would bring tremendous benefits and opportunities to the housing sector, especially in view of the interest being shown by the overseas Diaspora in returning home, because of this breaching of new frontiers in the country, with the accompanying expanded accessibility to land for commercial and industrial adventurism.
Minister Ali said that the Government has outlined a framework through which the Diaspora, and any Guyanese, can invest in agricultural initiatives.  Most importantly, the Minister said, is that the Takatu Bridge, with the new road linkages, is opening the vast territories of Guyana’s hinterland for housing development.
Speaking to development of the East Bank of Demerara, the Minister said that Government is targeting the development of a particular area, which would allow members of the Diaspora to buy land in Guyana, planned to be sold at market value, but which would still be affordable in comparison with comparative prices offered by private realtors.  He said applications can be made through the online system. Explaining that many persons in the Diaspora want to return home and would like to build retirement homes for when their working lives are over, the Minister revealed that there is a specific development plan where the new East Bank market is programmed to be established.
According to the Minister, there has been an influx of applications for house lots from the Guyanese Diaspora.
“Our strategic vision in the development of the new housing area,” said the Minister “is to target a particular area specific to that market.”
He mentioned the hydropower project, which has been the subject of much discussion in the Cabinet, and said that now “the dreams and visions are  being transformed and translated into reality”, which the Minister said is the essence of the 2010 Budget,  and which he ascribes to “moving from the thinking zone into the implementation zone.”
The Minister said that Government creates and drives visionary opportunities that in turn expands the nation’s development paradigm, and cited as an instance Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the Jagdeo Initiative driving Guyana’s agricultural thrust, which are all important transformative dynamics designed to create synergies that would impel the developmental processes of Guyana into an upward trajectory.
The PPP/C Government’s development path for Guyana’s future has been clearly defined and delineated, according to Minister Ali, and this period of transformation, modernization, and implementation of visions and strategies is an ever-evolving catalyst impelling our growth through limitless boundaries into unprecedented arenas of development.