–as housing project nears completion
A HOUSING project at White Water in the Mabaruma sub-district of Region One (Barima-Waini) is almost complete.
The project was undertaken through a new sustainable hinterland housing scheme, which was overseen by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) through a US$3.1M loan.
Undertaken in three phases, it is the follow-on to the Hinterland Housing pilot project that ran from 2009-2015.
A village council official told the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday that 26 houses are almost completed, and that some families have already moved in, while others have been undergoing the finishing touches to completion.
The homes were built by residents, and according to a villager, the carpenters of White Water are committed to building the homes through an arrangement with the CH&PA.
As regards the selection process, families were interviewed, and depending on their circumstance, they were selected for a house.
“They were selected based on their condition of living, or if their house was too full,” a village council official confirmed.
The village, which lies close to the border with Venezuela, has a population of approximately 1,200 residents, and was targetted to benefit from the hinterland sustainable housing project, having benefitted from the initial component that ended in 2015.
According to the CH&PA, the objective of the project was to improve the liveability of low-income households in pre-selected hinterland communities; improve access to housing, potable water, sanitation; and promote women empowerment.
During a community meeting at the village’s multi-purpose hall in September 2016, CH&PA Senior Community Development Officer, Donell Bess-Bascom reminded residents of the success of the last project.
“In White Water,” she said, “we have been able to construct 22 full houses. We were able to replace 28 roofs, and I know there have been more that we didn’t count.
“White Water has been an exemplary village under this project; your performance has generally been very good, because you were the first community we started with under the last project.”
She’d also said at the time: “Twelve communities will be part of this process; four of them are in Region One. These include White Water and its satellite villages that come under the administration of White Water.
“We are looking at Kamwatta and Sebai in Region One, and we have eight other communities in Region Nine that we will be implementing under this project.”
Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings–Williams, who was attached to the housing sector at the time, told the residents at the meeting that during the project’s execution persons would have benefitted from jobs.
“That is what cohesive, empowered and sustainable communities means; you must have local economic developmental activities right there in your communities, that is what the Ministry of Communities is encouraging every community to do. When you are thinking about community development plans, get everyone involved,” Minister Hastings-Williams said.
White Water Toshao, Cleveland De Souza was appreciative that the village has been considered for another round of intervention.
Under the IDB-funded Hinterland Housing Project, communities in Regions One and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) were expected to benefit, with a total of 306 full houses being constructed and 122 roofs being replaced.
