— 2,000 part-time jobs for Region Nine residents; $1M each for 600 land allottees
— GBTI, NBS agree to provide $2M loans at 3.5 per cent interest; no collateral, job letter required

By Cassandra Khan
SOME 2,000 part-time jobs will soon be available in Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo), President, Dr Irfaan Ali announced on Friday.
The Head of State made this announcement during his three-day visit to Region Nine which started on Friday. He is accompanied on the visit by Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai; Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall and the Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues.

Each person employed will receive $40,000 per month to supplement income at the household level to cushion the impact of rising cost of living.
Government has so far injected more than $5B into communities for the creation of more than 10,000 part-time jobs.

This was not the only big announcement for the region. Houses that cost $3M will be built. To ensure as many persons as possible own a home, President Ali said the government will give $1M to each person owning a lot, starting with the current 600 allottees in the region. This is $600M being invested by the Government in Region Nine.

In addition, he said that after discussions with the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and the New Building Society (NBS), they have agreed to finance the remaining $2M (of 3M required to build a house) at an interest rate of 3.5 per cent, without the need for collateral or a job letter.

Not only is that the lowest rate in the country, but homeowners would only have to repay $14,000 each month but under the condition of the material and labour being procured locally.
“So, you get the $600 million from us [and] you will get the remainder financed and the repayment will be $14, 000,” President Ali said.

A total of $1.8 billion is being invested by the Government into housing in Lethem. This programme is expected to stimulate the local economy, create jobs for residents, improve occupancy, increase the net value asset and provide opportunities for refinancing for investments.

The President also reminded Region Nine residents of the initiative which caters for persons constructing homes below $6 million.
Under this initiative, persons constructing homes at the value of $6 million or less will receive one sling of cement, along with the steel to be used for the foundation of the home.

The President had previously said that this and other supporting initiatives are geared at making homeownership more affordable and to boost the quality of life of Guyanese.
At Lethem on Friday, he emphasised that his government is caring and responsive and is doing everything in its power to minimise the impact of the increased cost of living on Guyanese.

The government has distributed COVID-19 cash grants, the ‘Because We Care’ cash grants and support for farmers, among other initiatives to improve the lives of citizens, including those in Region Nine.
“We promise you that we are going to create the necessary environment to ensure that your life is improved,” President Ali told the residents of Region Nine.

He acknowledged that tremendous investment is still needed for Region Nine to be comparable with the coastlands and on this note, said all of the roads in Lethem will be paved roads.
The government also wants to work with young people of the region to ensure that they are a part of the new phase of development in the country.

Opportunities for young persons to become health workers, nurses, doctors, engineers and heavy equipment operators will be brought to the region, the President said.
“We have already said to the Ministry of Health, all those persons with minimum qualifications in the entire region who would like to come into the healthcare system as nurses, technicians, health workers, let us assemble them and the government is committed to providing the necessary resources to have them trained to take up those jobs right here in the region,” the President said.

He added: “We want people of this region to benefit from the opportunities right here in the region.”
He also said a massive investment will be injected into food production in the region.
“We must produce more within our communities and we want to work with all communities in developing plans and programmes to ensure that our food production capacity is improved,” President Ali said.