… President Ali pledges support of ‘Men on Mission’ initiative

A MASSIVE programme to construct 150 houses for vulnerable Guyanese will unfold next year, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced on Sunday as he presented a newly-built house to 85-year-old Herstelling, East Bank Demerara resident, Meena Bafan.

Guyana’s Head of State, while offering brief remarks, said that these houses will be constructed with the support of his newly-launched ‘Men on Mission’ initiative.

“Next year, under the Men on Mission umbrella, we are going to launch a massive programme. We are hoping that through the Men on Mission Initiative alone next year, we can build at least 150 homes across the country,” President Ali said.

Already, local authorities have been engaging players in the banking sector and the Head of State related that banks are willing to finance the projects once those vulnerable persons own land.

He also explained that a house, similar to the one presented to Ms Bafan, can be constructed for anybody who has their own land. Ms Bafan’s new house cost about $5 million. Materials and labour, the President said, were however provided by members of the local private sector.

The President’s announcement joins a suite of other initiatives that are being implemented across the country to meet Guyana’s housing demand. Free building materials for select categories of new homebuilders, low interest rates on mortgages and low-cost housing options are part of the initiatives implemented through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Housing and Water.

MORE SUPPORT IN COMMUNITIES
Aside from direct housing relief, the President stated that the government is examining whether it could employ Guyanese-Venezuela migrants and other workers from Albouystown and other similar communities throughout the country. Those workers, who would help to construct the houses, would be trained in carpentry and masonry.

This consideration is part of efforts to push community involvement in national projects. Several small pathways and roads will also be rehabilitated. Additionally, he said that tree-planting exercises and other infrastructural works within communities will be done.

“So while the last two years we’ve been focusing heavily on the transformative agenda. I think next year will be a massive push on community development, village development that really pushes people development also.”

Also in 2023, President Ali added that he does not want MoM to become a reactive initiative but a proactive one that is spread across Guyana.

With that he added that the MoM is planning a “Home with dad” initiative as they encourage fathers to be at home, spend time with their families and bring families together.

He said, “There is absolutely no beauty in becoming wealthy as a country, and we are poor as a people; the way we think, the way we act, the way we behave, the way we socialise, the way we treat our families and our communities.”