YESTERDAY, the third in a series of nine ‘One Stop Shop’ exercises was held at Albion, Corentyne, Berbice, where the people of Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) were able to vie for the 775 available house lots in the Kilcoy/Chesney area, also on the Corentyne.

President Donald Ramotar was quoted as saying: “The building sector has had a very strong and positive impact on our economy, and has created a lot of jobs and a lot of economic activities in Guyana.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali in his mission to create opportunities for the low, moderate and middle income classes of people said in an advertised statement: “We at the Ministry of Housing are happy to be able to respond to the needs, which will benefit all of the residents and help them to achieve the socio-economic benefits of home ownership.”
During the ‘One Stop Shop’ initiative where financial institutions readily advertised their mortgage packages, a large enthusiastic gathering turned up at the Albion Community Centre to be part of the formal procedure which will take them closer to their dream of, owning their own home.

Prior to the official proceedings, Regional Chairman Permaul Armogan described the housing drive as the biggest success story of the Government of Guyana.
“As a government we recognise the importance and pride of every Guyanese having the opportunity to own their own home; this is a dream of every young person,” he noted.

MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT
Armogan pointed out that the government has made it easy for citizens to access finances to purchase land and build their homes at a low interest rate.
“This housing drive has encompassed every single Guyanese, it has nothing to do with political affiliation or race; we are not only giving you a piece of land, we are also ensuring that you have proper access in terms of streets, you will also have water and electricity. The rest of the Caribbean is now looking at Guyana as a model of development in this regard,” he said.
The Regional Chairman also enlightened the gathering that interest on mortgage taken from financial institutions to purchase land will be deducted from their taxable income. He also issued a statement of caution to the new land owners.
“We are pushing a housing drive, we are not empowering you to do a business by way of holding the land then selling it. We are helping you to own a home. If we know of people who are buying land for re-sale, you are going to find yourself in very serious trouble; we are revising the laws to ensure that this penalty will be so great that it will serve as a deterrent  to the people doing those kind of thing (re-selling),” he warned.
The gathering was urged not to abandon the lands that were acquired since the government will repossess and give them to other persons who are serious about home and land ownership.

BENEFITS OF HOME OWNERSHIP
Chief Executive Officer of the CH&PA, Myrna Pitt explained that owning a home offers an individual a chance to enhance the environment in a self-pleasing way.
“The benefits of home ownership are numerous and it is our hope that you would make good use of the wide range of information that you have at your disposal. Think about the day that you will kiss your landlord goodbye and enter into your own space and the freedom that comes with that,” she declared.
Representatives of financial institutions were present in their numbers and assisted their country folks in bettering their lives.
Pitt added: “Your home will also be an asset that can be used as collateral to finance the acquisition of other assets, as well as to establish or expand a business.”
Also present at the ‘One Stop Shop’ were Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Water, Emil Mc Garrell and Development Facilitation Officer, Orsen Simon.