‘Building Expo’ returns in July
Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal assists Anita Ramphal in pulling her lot number, 593 Plantation in Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara
Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal assists Anita Ramphal in pulling her lot number, 593 Plantation in Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara

–800 persons become new land-owners, 300 titles distributed in ‘Dream Realised’ Housing Drive

EIGHT hundred Guyanese became land-owners, and approximately 300 Land Titles and Transports were distributed on Friday as the Housing and Water Ministry kicked off its first ‘Dream Realised’ Housing Drive for 2022 at the Guyana National Stadium, at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

The house lots fall within the Grove Diamond Block-1 Housing Development, and are being allocated to moderate, middle, and high-income citizens. Both subject ministers were on the ground, assisting persons with sector-related concerns.

Further, within the next two weeks, persons who were allocated house lots in Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five(Mahaica-Berbice), and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) will be able to see the lots they have been allocated, as some infrastructural works have been accelerated in Stewartville, Edinburgh, Anna Catherina, Cornelia Ida, and Meten–Meer-Zorg within Region Three; Prospect, Little Diamond, Annandale, Mon Repos and Vigilance/Bladen Hall/Stratsphey in Region Four; Experiment in Region Five, and Nos. 75 and 79 Villages, Ordinance Fortlands and Williamsburg in Region Six.

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal also announced that the ‘Building Expo’ will return in July 2022.

A section of the gathering at the first ‘Dream Realised’ Housing Drive for 2022 at the National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara on Friday

The ‘Building Expo’ began under the stewardship of the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration during the tenure of then Housing Minister Irfaan Ali, who is now the President of Guyana.

“His vision guides us today, not just in housing, but in every facet of life in Guyana,” Minister Croal said, adding: “His foresight saw an explosion in the construction sector that is unmatched; we want to capitalise on this. This ‘expo’ was always well received, as it brought together stakeholders under one roof, and was a forum to showcase new and innovative developments within the local sector. We will host the launch next month, and I’m looking forward to the grand event which will take place right here at the National Stadium.”

Further, he said that the ministry’s target for 2022 is set at a modest 15,000 allocations, as several other similar housing drives are planned to achieve the delivery of 50,000 house lots by 2025 as promised.

EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS
However, he said this promise cannot be fulfilled without changes to the way business is done at the ministry, and this means making the services provided more efficient and effective, as well as expanding the role of the ministry within the infrastructural trajectory set by the government.

“As you have seen in the past 15 months, the Ministry of Housing and Water has added the construction of major roads to its portfolio. This new role is continuing to expand; we have new contracts that are now in the signing stage, which will see rapid infrastructural development in several housing areas,” Minister Croal oted.

The East Bank Corridor, he said, is seeing an injection of infrastructural projects from the government as well as the private sector.

Staffers at the Ministry of Housing engage persons with questions pertaining to housing allocations (Delano Williams photos)

He said that this augurs well for the future of the community, and he is happy to report that infrastructure works at Prospect, Little Diamond, Great Diamond and on the four-lane highway from Mandela to Eccles are nearing the completion stage, while those at Providence Blocks 1 and 2 are fully completed, and are to the tune of $6.8M.

“We are now embarking on new infrastructural projects in other areas within Great Diamond, Golden Grove, Little Diamond and Peter’s Hall, as well as upgrading roads at Herstelling, Perseverance, Peter’s Hall, Experiment and Eccles. These infrastructural projects and road upgrades will cost close to $14.8 billion. Contracts for these projects are awarded, and are in the signing stage; works are slated to begin shortly. When the cost for the construction of the new four-lane highway from Eccles to Great Diamond, which stands at $13.3B, is added to the new stock of projects, the total sum for new investments in the East Back corridor is expected to be a staggering $28 billion,” Minister Croal said.

Further, he said that in keeping with the targets, the Ministry of Housing and Water, CH&PA and GWI have sought to improve the quality and accessibility of the services offered.

The CH&PA, he explained, has introduced e-applications and submissions for land allocation for both residential and commercial uses.

“So, when before you had to travel from Essequibo or Berbice or Linden to get a status update on your application, now you can do that by just visiting the website and inputting your information. Additionally, we have established offices in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three, Four, Five, Six, Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) where you can make inquiries about your allocation status,” Minister Croal said.

Noting that land acquisition can be a painstaking process, Minister Croal said,

“We have promised to allocate house lots in areas that have at least the basic infrastructure like electricity, water, roads, green spaces and other similar elements that makes the area complete.”

WORKING TIRELESSLY
In this regard, Minister Croal explained that GWI has been working tirelessly to improve access to safe, reliable and affordable water supply along the East Bank Corridor.

As a result, treated water is projected to expand to more than 45,000 households, an increase in water coverage from 52 to 95 per cent.
He explained that the water treatment plants at Eccles and Covent Garden have been upgraded and expanded, and there’s now a new plant at Caledonia, which will service from New Hope to Soesdyke, EBD.

More than 13 Km of transmission and distribution mains, Minister Croal said, will be installed to provide treated water service to the new housing schemes located in Little Diamond, Prospect, Providence and the communities to be developed along with the Eccles to Diamond Four Lane Road, including the current lots where the owners have not yet commenced construction.

In addition, the minister noted that a new well will be completed at Providence by the end of April 2022, and another new one is planned for Eccles to provide expanded service and improved service quality to the residents across this corridor.

These improvements, the minister said, will positively affect the lives of the most vulnerable, women and children, but they can also be time-consuming, “so we ask for your patience”.

“We recognise that simply being allocated a house lot does not always translate into a completed house. We know that there are challenges that you experience, from getting access to loans to having to pay quite a bit for building materials; we know, too, that some of you lack the knowhow to get around these challenges. We have sought to provide assistance to you by, for example, inviting the banks and insurance companies to participate in events like this one,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues said that owning a home is very empowering, especially for women, since 30 per cent of all the house lots that have been distributed have gone to single women.

“We speak about home ownership, and not about house lot allocation. We want you to move beyond having a plot of land; we want you to achieve home ownership. That is why we have made so many interventions like zero-rating construction materials, like inviting the banks at every single allocation exercise, giving you access to them, so that once you receive your allocation, you can approach the banks and find out how to qualify for a loan, what are the requirements, how long will the process take and you can start to plan financially to get to that point,” she noted.

Further, Minister Rodrigues said government wants life and vibrancy in all housing schemes, and not just a plot of land left in the open, and as such, occupancy is being promoted by building road networks and utilities.

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