– under Hinterland Housing project

THE Government of Guyana and Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Sustainable Housing project has seen the construction of 93 homes and the replacement of 33 roofs in Region One for this year.

This was disclosed by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Deputy Director of Community Development, Donell Bess-Bascom, who provided an update on Tuesday. According to Bess-Bascom, residents in Region One communities such as Sebai, WhiteWater, Haimacabra and Kamwatta have all benefitted. In Region Nine, the agency aimed to construct 224 housing units in “Kwatamang, Masara, Katoka, Karassabi and in the Deep-South and South Central Rupununi in areas like Sand Creek, Karaudarnau and Potarinau.”

The Deputy Director said, “the span of the project included satellite villages because it was realised that the housing needs in these communities are greater due to their extreme geographic isolation.” She also revealed that through good partnership with the communities, an additional $69 million was secured and has been invested in the construction of 10 more houses in Haimacabra Region One and 18 additional units in specific sites in the Region Nine. Another benefit is the fact that labour and materials are being sourced in some of the some of the communities. “Part of agency’s experience working in the Hinterland Housing project is that among the residents there are excellent builders… who have found a way to develop very durable housing material that is indigenous to their communities,” Bess-Bascom explained. Other projects under the Hinterland Housing Development programme were executed in Regions Seven and Eight at a cost of $200M.