SCORES of residents in Region Three turned out at the Leonora Track and Field Facility on Friday, as the Ministry of Housing and Water – Central Housing and Planning Authority launched the Home Construction Assistance Programme in the region.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal; Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Mr. Sherwyn Greaves; Director of Operations, Mrs. Denise King-Tudor and technical staff were present at the launch.

The initiative is the brainchild of President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and is designed to assist Guyanese families, who own government or private lands to access financing and build their homes.
“Our goal as a government is to ensure that all of our citizens have proper access to housing. We understand the many difficulties that you encounter and this programme provides an avenue to bridge that gap,” Minister Croal stated.

Through the programme applicants can select from three pre-designed housing models ($7 million, $9 million and $12 million) and pre-qualify for loans with financial institutions.
Those on board include Republic Bank Limited-Guyana, Citizens Bank and the New Building Society. The houses will be built by contractors and monitored by engineers of the Central Housing and Planning Authority for quality control.

During the launch several contractors in the region, who expressed interest in building the houses registered with the Ministry’s database. This will boost the regional economy and create employment for residents in the area.

Minister Croal noted that, in addition to the Home Construction Assistance Programme, several other projects will catapult the region’s housing sector.
Close to $4 billion in infrastructure works are ongoing in several housing schemes. The bidding process is also ongoing for the construction of a new four-lane highway from Schoonord, West Bank Demerara to Crane, West Coast Demerara, which will unlock lands for new housing and commercial developments.

Minister Croal also announced that construction for the first 500 homes in Region Three was expected to commence soon.

During the launch on Friday, residents lauded the government’s effort to make home-ownership more attainable.
“It’s a great initiative because, right now, for me, we’re paying rent and it’s very expensive,” expressed Mrs. Shavannah Sugrim, a mother of two, who was able to pre-qualify with one of the financial institutions. Her spouse, Mr. Royan Sugrim also shared similar sentiments, as he noted that they were looking forward to providing a safer shelter for their children.

Meanwhile, single mother of four, Ms. Shellon Castello, stated, “it’s a very good initiative especially for single parents […] I’ve been waiting for a while now to build my own house so it’s a good thing for the assistance we’re receiving”.

After receiving her land in 2013 and encountering a number of difficulties constructing her home, Ms. Shamkumarie Persaud, also stated that she was pleased with the initiative. Ms. Persaud has now been pre-qualified for a mortgage with the New Building Society.

The Home Construction Assistance Programme has also been launched in Region Four, Region Six and Region Ten. (DPI)