…close to $10M invested in Block 22 and Blue Berry Hill
The Government of Guyana and the Ministry of Housing have invested close to $10M in the regularisation process for Block 22 and Blue Berry Hill in Wismar, Region Ten (Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice ), ensuring that residents there will be able to live more comfortable and secure lives. To expedite the process, the Ministry of Housing and the Central Housing and Planning Authority hosted a regularisation exercise on Saturday to allow for the processing of titles for more than 800 lots in the two communities, at the Bay Rock Community Centre in Linden, where scores of persons gathered to benefit from the services provided through the ‘One Stop Shop’ initiative.
In his address to the excited gathering , Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali pointed out that the day’s activities are testimony to the fact that hurdles have been overcome and would-be home owners can now be offered security through the allocation of lots and the distribution of titles.
Ali said, “We have been progressive and proactive in ensuring that squatting areas are regularised so that we would be in a better position to provide services to you.”
He observed that the Government has embarked on an infrastructural development programme; as such more than $25 million will be invested next year for the improvement of roads as well as the development of water networks in the region, all of which are positive outcomes of regularisation.
Continuing, Ali highlighted that more than $1.6B has been injected into the Housing and Water sector in the region over the past five years, and another $995 million has been earmarked to be spent on housing in Linden next year.
“Region Ten has been part of the infrastructure development landscape as we have invested $150 million in the water sector, while tens of millions are currently being spent on road works,” he divulged.
The continued improvement of such areas, he pointed out, is evidence of the government’s commitment to development, “with a human face, through fairness and transparency”, all the while ensuring that growth is passed on to the people of Guyana.
He encouraged residents to view the occasion as a life-changing one, since they will have better access to health care and educational opportunities, benefits which can only materialise through the regularisation process.
“You have evidence to show that you own property and you are empowered by this ownership and have a wide range of opportunities open to you now,” Ali announced.
In addition, the Minister encouraged community members to take full advantage of all of the opportunities available at the event, especially the services provided by the financial institutions represented, since the government has also been creating the right fiscal policies which would enable the banks to lower their interest rates for the benefit of the people.
“We recognise the need for this policy and the transformation effect it has on families,” he stressed, adding, “In 2011, we, the PPP/C, will continue to work to ensure that you are empowered which will be of great benefit to you and the country as a whole.”
Alluding to additional improvements in the region, Minister Ali revealed that the tendering process for the development of Amelia’s Ward Phase 3 in Linden, which will accommodate an additional 1,000 lots, will begin next month.