– Min. Ferguson says half of the house lots developed by PPP had no infrastructure

By Rabindra Rooplall
GOVERNMENT has spent $6 billion to upgrade 31 housing schemes that were left with little to no infrastructure before 2015 while about $2.9 billion was spent on the construction and upgrade of roads.

This is according to Minister within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for Housing, Annette Ferguson during a press briefing at the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Brickdam, Georgetown, on Tuesday.

She said another $2.7 billion was spent on the provision of electricity and another $16 billion was needed to complete infrastructure in many housing schemes.

Minister Ferguson said, of the total amount of house lots which the previous administration boasts about developing, there was no provision for infrastructure for some 28,000 which amounts to more than half of the total.

“Let me put that in plain words, about half of the house lots developed by Mr. Jagdeo’s PPP did not have any infrastructure. There are people who paid large sums of monies, in full, for lands they could not even see. From 2015 to now we have people visiting the office daily who paid in full for lands at Stewartville, Cummings Lodge and some sections of Covent Garden,” the minister noted.

She said that for those who indicated that they had already secured loans or in instances ready to start construction, under the current administration, they were re-allocated to other areas.

CARING ADMINISTRATION
“As a caring administration, we understand the plight of these people and we are working to make these lands accessible. Very soon we will arrange a media tour to Cummings Lodge to see the ongoing works,” Minister Ferguson said.

When the claim was made that government was allocating house lots in areas that had no infrastructure, Minister Ferguson said what was omitted was that the same could be said about Cummings Lodge where allocation was made before the present Administration took office in 2015.

“It was also said that these allocations are being done now with approaching election. What was also omitted was that Cummings Lodge was also allocated, with no infrastructure, mere months before the 2015 elections,” Ferguson said.

The housing minister explained that it was not unusual or uncommon for allocations to be done using the designs layout.

“This is where our planners and architects complete the drawing of these schemes in the form of a two-dimensional plan. At the Design Layout Stage, infrastructure is never in place. I repeat that, at the Design Layout stage, infrastructure is never in place,” the housing minister told reporters.

She explained that that was a practice that existed pre-2015 and one which government had adopted and sought to build on and improve.

“Instances where we do allocations just using the design lay out plan, we first consult with applicants if they are willing to pay their monies and wait until the land is ready for construction. The consultation is done in the form of a letter which the applicant is made to read thoroughly and sign before making payments,” Minister Ferguson said.

She said lands that were recently allocated in Regions Two, Five and Six, applicants were made aware that they will have access to their lands in about nine months’ time.
The minister explained that prior to that, a similar system was used in the allocations of lots in the Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara Housing Scheme and the applicants, from all indications, were satisfied with the process used.

She said that allocations were done in November-December 2017, with the understanding that the lands will be accessible in August 2018.

DIFFICULT HAND
“The question now remains, could we have done more? Did we want to do more? Absolutely yes! But how could we do more, in a short space of time given the mess we inherited? As my colleague minister pointed out ‘the coalition government inherited a difficult hand’ in relation to the provision of housing for Guyanese in need,” the housing minister said.

Minister Ferguson noted that recently 550 house lots were allocated to applicants in Region Two (about 100) on November 5; Region Six (350) on November 28; and Region Five (approx. 100) on November 29.

“These lots were issued, using a modified policy. We seek to do allocations in a systematic and methodical manner. That is to say, allocations are done, for the most part, according to the date of the application. This became necessary because when I came to office, I discovered that there are applications dating, as far back as the early 1990s,” the minister disclosed.

She explained that the modified policy will help the ministry to address a number of issues, for example, in the past, people (public servants earning the minimum wage) were called, mere hours before an event, with an offer for an allocation which required them to find 50 per cent of the cost for lands.

“Keep in mind, we have lands which carry a cost ranging from 92,000 to $3M. The new process encourages and allows for persons to stay within their means. We have not imposed on anyone. That is to say, we make the applicant aware of all possible options available – be it a housing unit or land which falls within their affordability,” she said.
The minister noted that due to the severe allocation policy existing pre-2015, many people who had received house lot offers, struggled to pay off for their lands and remained indebted to the agency.

“The Jubilee 50/50 promotion which was introduced in May 2016, enabled those persons to clear their arrears and brought in much needed revenues to the agency. This much needed revenue aided in commencement of major infrastructure works in schemes which were partially developed and allocated pre- 2015,” the minister underscored.