–as Housing Ministry plugs $163M into home improvement subsidies, core home support

RESIDENTS of La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD), will benefit from a timely housing boost, as the Ministry of Housing and Water has signed contracts valuing, collectively, $163 million for home improvement subsidies and core home support.
Contracts for the impending works were signed by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Sherwyn Greaves during a simple ceremony at the ministry’s Brickdam office on Friday.
Specifically, Cemax Procurement and Contracting signed a contract valued $10,881,287 for Lot Seven, while Mike and Daughters Lumberyard received a $54,257,545 contract for works to be done at Lots One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Eight. Further, specific to the home improvement subsidies, a contract valued $98,920,225 was awarded to Tristar Industries Inc.
Speaking about the projects, Minister Croal said that they fall under the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme, which is being funded through a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

“This programme has been reformulated as part of our goal to provide sustainable and affordable housing, as well as access to basic infrastructure for Guyanese, particularly those in low-income communities,” Minister Croal said.
He also spoke of the importance of the programme to enhancing mobility and safety in vulnerable communities.
For this reason, Minister Croal urged contractors to put their “best foot forward” and ensure that the projects are delivered in a timely manner, and to the right quality and standard.
In outlining the specifics of the projects, Greaves said that 25 core homes will be built in the community, and 118 home improvement subsidies will be granted.
The core homes, according to the CEO, will be single-family homes of no less than 330 square feet, with concrete blocks for the outer walls and floors, basic doors, windows, electrical wiring and water connections.

“These projects will benefit a lot of deserving people in our society who have been waiting a long time for assistance, and will go a far way in bringing support to these persons,” Greaves said. “We specifically picked these areas, because we know they are people who are in need, and who really want to benefit from this programme,” he added.
He said that seeing that the project is being funded by the IDB, it will be paying close attention to the performance of the contracts.
The houses, Greaves affirmed, are designed to meet the basic standards that a family would require, and even leaves room for future expansion.
The home improvement subsidies will be $500,000, granted in the form of building materials for repairs to walls, floors, electrical works and sanitation improvements, among other things.
All beneficiaries will be individuals in vulnerable households living in structures considered not habitable. These are also persons who possess ownership of the said property, and would have applied and prequalified for the programme.

The Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme previously encompassed communities from Georgetown to Grove, on the East Bank of Demerara; La Bonne Intention (LBI), on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD); and Westminster, Onderneeming, Recht-Door-Zee, Lust en Rust, and La Parfaite Harmonie Phase II, on the West Bank of Demerara.
The ministry recently expanded the boundaries of the project to include 19 communities on the ECD.
Even as works related to this programme continue, Minister Croal urged all pending house lot applicants to be patient, as the ministry continues to clear the backlog, especially for persons who have been waiting for years. To this end, the minister said: “Our government is committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure that we can do the infrastructure works for those areas for which we are allocating. While we have in the existing areas of current works totaling $13.9 billion, you can expect coming on stream in our 2022 budget similar amount of infrastructure works to complement those new areas that have no development… you can understand the magnitude and the impact it would have on enhancing the lives of citizens.”