— government’s support for persons building their homes seen as most helpful and timely

GUYANESE have lauded the initiatives announced by President, Dr Irfaan Ali that is set to target home builders in the below $6 million to $25Million bracket as helpful and timely.

The massive investments by the government will see home builders benefitting from the provision of steel and cement for the construction of their homes.

Yogakshi Persaud told the Guyana Chronicle that she is happy with the announcements from the President. She was among a group of persons who on Saturday received a house lot at the Ministry of Housing and Water Dream Realised initiative at the International Building Expo being held at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara.

According to Persaud, the house lot allocation closes a six-year-long wait in her journey to home ownership. Speaking about the government’s initiative, Persaud said she is “extremely happy,” as the initiative is a great kickstart in the building process.

“I think it is a very good initiative, especially for the young professionals because sometimes someone when they get their land, they probably are not capable of starting at the moment or they would say I would like to wait a few years before I decide to build, but when they get that motivation now they would say okay, I’m getting a little help, we will move forward with it.”

Latoya Harris, another visitor at the building expo, believes that the measures announced by the President will play a major role in boosting the rate at which land owners start pursuing the commencement of construction on their properties.

She opined that with the cost of living worldwide continuing along an upward trajectory, it is great to see the government investing in systems to cater to the needs of the public.

AN ENCOURAGEMENT
“It really subsidises the cost of building and helps people to achieve their dream of home ownership. This type of initiative is really an encouragement, because we all know that costs of items are going up every day and this will allow home owners the opportunity to have that first step, which is quite expensive in itself, taken care of,” Harris said.

Lisa Persaud expressed similar views. She told the Guyana Chronicle that she recently received a house lot a few months ago and is at the stage of building the foundation of her house.

She is eager to benefit from the government’s initiative as it is set to save her a significant sum that could be utilised in another section of the building process.

The new initiative will see persons constructing their homes at the value of $6 million or less receiving one sling of cement, along with the steel to be used for the foundation works.

The President also noted that home builders in the above $6 million to $25 million categories will receive two slings of cement to aid in the construction process. He said that these initiatives are being implemented to continue the government’s aggressive agenda of making homeownership more affordable and to boost the quality of life of Guyanese.

The current cost for one sling of cement, which consists of around 36 sacks of cement, is $58,000 at Gafoors, one of Guyana’s leading hardware stores.

The boom in the construction sector has seen a significant 50 per cent growth in loans within the past two years.

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, on Friday, said since assuming office less than two years ago, the government has been working strategically to achieve its manifesto promise to provide 50,000 house lots by 2025. In less than two years, some 12,000 house lots have been allotted in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Nine, and 10.