CABINET on Tuesday granted its no-objection to a contract valued at more than $113M for the construction of more core homes, Presidential Advisor on Goverance, Gail Teixeira announced yesterday.Speaking at the usual post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President, in Georgetown, she said the houses will be constructed in Regions 3(Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) and 10 (Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice).

Just last month, 103 residents from various housing areas in Region 3 were officially presented with keys to their own homes, courtesy of the government-led Core Home Initiative.

This initiative, which is being executed under the second phase of the Low-Income Settlement Programme (LIS 2), targets single parents, the differently abled and the elderly.

The latest presentation was done in Westminster Phase One; Recht-Door-Zee Phases One and Two; and Onderneeming Phase One, all relatively new communities within the Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme on the West Bank of Demerara.

President Donald Ramotar paid a visit to the areas and gave a commitment that this year, the LIS 2 programme will be further expanded to Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and the hinterland to further improve the lives of all Guyanese by ensuring they have the opportunity to own a home.

Noting that there are many spinoff benefits to be derived from government-led social programmes like the Core Home Initiative, such as more disposable income for families, President Ramotar said: “The core homes offer households an excellent opportunity to restructure their lifestyles.”

He also referred to the hinterland housing drive and its impact on the lives of hundreds of Amerindians, noting that it is one of the many initiatives used by the administration to improve people’s quality of life.

Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali said that the Core Home Initiative complements several other government programmes, and has resulted in tremendous change in the housing sector, as it not only targets vulnerable and low-income groups, but young professionals and others in the high-income bracket.

The programme was also done as part of the Parfaite Harmonie Housing Development, which has about 8,000 house lots. Ali said that thus far, more than 32,000 people have benefited from the housing programme in that area.

From 2000 to now, more than $7B has been invested in the housing programme, with the average investment per household amounting to $875,000. The 103 core homes, which will accommodate close to 423 persons, were completed at an average cost of $2.9M each, which gives an overall cost of $300M, with individual beneficiaries contributing $100,000 for construction.
Written By Telesha Ramnarine