Sixteen of 400 poor families get core homes
SIXTEEN families were presented with keys to their new homes, on Wednesday, when the Ministry of Housing commissioned several ‘Core Homes’ at Block ‘D1’ Bath Housing Scheme, West Coast Berbice. The houses are among 400 for which the Government of Guyana, under the Second Low Income Settlement Programme (LIS-2), received financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the Core House Pilot Project.
With that aid, the government is providing an alternative to affordable housing for low-income earners.
In his address to the new homeowners, at the commissioning, Minister with the portfolio, Mr. Irfaan Ali said the ceremony is the celebration of a milestone in the whole project cycle.
“This programme falls within the Government’s wider scheme of ensuring that we reduce poverty and develop programmes and strategies that will bring direct benefits to our people,” the Acting Prime Minister said.
In addition, he pointed out that, as the country’s economy gets better, there is an increasing need to utilise resources more wisely.
“That is why our strategy, since 2006, was to approach economic expansion through the pro-poor way and this is ensuring that the poor and vulnerable in our society are given additional opportunity to ensure that issues of equality are addressed and that the gap between the haves and the have nots is not an extraordinary gap,” Ali explained.
He said it ensures that such programmes are developed on a continuous basis and assures that economic expansion caters for diversification, where the households can have more disposable income and be able to maximise their resources.
Ali said, of the 400 homes to be constructed, the Ministry of Housing is in the process of completing a total of 41 in Westminster in Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), Non Pariel in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) and  Tabatinga in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo)
As to the continued construction, he said:“By mid-July, we hope that a further 43 will go out to tender, so that more families will be able to benefit.”

IMPORTANT ASPECT
He emphasised that an important aspect of the project is the empowerment provided to women and vulnerable groups and making sure that single parent families are catered for and their needs addressed.
“I am happy to say that, out of the 16 families benefiting, eight are single parent families, seven of which are headed by females and one headed by a male. This tells the reach of the project and the transformational effect it will have on those families,” Ali declared.
Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Ms. Myrna Pitt assured the beneficiaries of continued support in the form of technical assistance and guidance, which would lead to the extension of their new homes as their affordability increases.
The 16 erected in Block D1 at Bath were designed by CH&PA and completed at an average cost of $1,370,387 each and the individual beneficiaries were expected to contribute $100,000.
To date, 474 persons across 12 housing schemes have applied for participation in the pilot, 81 from allotees in Bath.
Meanwhile the overjoyed homeowners expressed profound gratitude to the government and the collaborating partner, IDB, for making the project a success.
“I am happy to be able to stand here and say thank you to all who played a special part in making this project a success. I know we are all grateful that we now have a place to call our new home,” Nadira Jameer said, after receiving the keys to her home.
The core unit is a modest 330 square feet wood and concrete structure with no internal partitions, except for the enclosed sanitary block, comprising a toilet and a shower.
It is equipped with a basic kitchen sink and electrical wiring and plumbing, elevated three feet off the ground and is designed to allow for it to be easily extended when the occupant can afford it.