MINISTER within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for Housing, Annette Ferguson, through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) met with a number of residents throughout Region Six, East
Berbice/Corentyne on Monday at State House in New Amsterdam, where approximately 300 house lots were allocated.

When this newspaper stopped in at 11:00hrs, there were over 500 people lined up with their applications in hand; others were seen coming through the gates as well. Minister Ferguson told the Guyana Chronicle that lots were allotted in the Fort Ordinance Housing Scheme, Williamsburg, Hampshire, Number 75 and Number 76 Villages respectively.

She continued that it was her intention to meet with each and every applicant to see what their concerns were and hopefully be able to address them on the spot, stressing that she did not want to see anyone leaving disappointed. “As a caring government this is what I said to my team, I prefer to bring the services to the people and rather than the people coming to us. I know a lot of persons experience challenges and constraints to leave Region Six to head to Georgetown, whereas my team can come right
here in the region and meet with the people and address the issues.”

As such, the team worked from 08:00hrs to around 23:00hrs in order to address each and every resident who was present. The house lots were distributed to applicants who had applied from the period 2010 or earlier, while new applicants were accepted. The status of those from 2010 onwards was also looked at. Prices for the lots were $200,000, $300,000 and $500,000 for lower, middle and high-income families respectively. This allocation takes the total within the last three months to over 600 house lots in East Berbice-Corentyne alone. Minister Ferguson and team had held a similar outreach in November 2019 in Corriverton, where another 300 plus lots were allocated.

Meanwhile, Patricia De Younge, 50, of Smithfield, New Amsterdam was very emotional as she said her life-long dream of owning a house is about to be realised. She explained that since the age of 17 when she got married some 33 years ago, she has been renting and moving around with her family. Her application was sent in since 1999 and now that she finally got a house lot in the Fort Ordinance Housing Scheme, she can’t wait to start building and finally settle.

Annanza Fortune, a mother of two from New Amsterdam, was equally ecstatic as she was allocated her house lot at Fort Ordinance as well. “It is a blessed day, now I can finally fulfil one of my dreams of having my own house, a place that I can truly call home. My kids will be able to have privacy in their rooms.. I am so happy I can’t stop smiling, God bless the minister and her team”.