That Guyana is being regarded as a housing model by the Inter-American Development Bank came as no surprise to us. Certainly, housing is one of the spheres of activities by the government that has known no boundaries since the re-establishment of the Ministry of Housing in 1992.Indeed, the turning point in the story about housing in Guyana came on the heels of the PPP/C gaining power in 1992, and between then and now, close to 90,000 house lots have been made available and distributed to Guyanese from all walks of life throughout the country.
We must give recognition to the fact that the Housing Ministry has been recording successes of unprecedented dimensions in its innovations to the housing sector, which have been included in its plan to satisfy the housing needs of all strata of the Guyanese people.
In this regard, it will be amiss of us to deny the most recent accomplishment by the Housing Ministry following the implementation of the Government of Guyana/Inter-American Development Bank funded, Second Low Income Settlement Programme. Thanks to the successful implementation of this programme, from far and near, our country has now become a model for housing in the Caribbean, and as Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali pointed out:
“Guyana is viewed as one of the countries that would have had excellent implementation that would have tremendous positives out of the programme. Here it is that Guyana is being used as a case study in exchanging information and ideas with our counterparts in Suriname.
We are open to sharing our housing programme. A lot of the Caribbean sister countries have been requesting information from us on how we approach our housing policy, because they see it as very successful. We are very happy that this is taking place, whilst, at the same time, we are trying to find more innovative ways of ensuring that we create new initiatives that would make it even more successful.”
From all indications our housing policy which is being driven by a team of dedicated individuals will continue to be the beacon that would point the way forward in the entire Caribbean region, especially in the Low Income Settlement programmes which have been branded successful here. This is a new area in housing development here in which the human factor is being taken into consideration.
While it is good to record success after success in the housing sector, we should give recognition to a true visionary, the late President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. It was indeed under his watch as President that the Housing Ministry was re-established and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) re-activated.
The previous PNC Government did not see the need for the Ministry of Housing then, and promptly closed down that very vital institution. It left to function, only a depleted Central Housing and planning Authority, and the notion of housing the nation became just a dream that would never come true.
But the Guyanese people at large recall that following the re-establishment of the Ministry of Housing and the re-activation of the CH&PA, housing the nation was put on the front burner and an all-inclusive housing drive was set in motion and this grew from strength to strength so much so that today housing in Guyana might be “The Greatest Story Ever Told.”
We recall that so severe was the situation, it was discovered that to bring some degree of relief, some 28,790 houses or an average of 5,758 new housing units were needed each year for the next five years following 1992. But being undaunted by the severity of the housing need, and working assiduously and at lightening pace, by the end of 1996, just four years after coming to power, the Housing Ministry distributed 12,000 house lots to Guyanese in various parts of the country.
The housing drive continued with alacrity in the years that followed and between 1993 and 2002, near to 60,000 house lots were distributed, and the Guyanese dream of owning a house was well under way. The housing Ministry continues to expend  every ounce of energy in satisfying the housing needs of all the people of this country, and up to the end of last year, almost 90,000 house lots were distributed to the people.