THIRTY squatters who were living along the East Bank Demerara (EBD) sea dam on Monday received the keys to new two-bedroom houses located at Great Diamond near the recently opened Heroes Highway.

The Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, who led a brief presentation ceremony, pointed out that the new homeowners and their families are now in safer living conditions and have an opportunity to improve their lives.

Each house is 600 square feet and aside from the two bedrooms, features a living room, washroom area and a kitchen. A walkway and access bridge are also in place.

Minister Croal pointed out that because of the close proximity to the four-lane thoroughfare, the residents now live in a ‘very prime’ location for housing in Guyana.

Since 2021, the housing ministry has been engaging approximated 291 squatters who have taken up residence on the East Bank sea dam at Herstelling, Farm, Covent Garden, Prospect, Diamond, Grove, and Friendship.

According to Minister Croal, the new homeowners are the first set of those squatters to receive housing units from the ministry. This, he said, is part of the plans to relocate those persons.

“This is the first stage whereby persons have been able to prequalify for houses, meaning they are working and they are able to show to the bank that they have the ability to repay for the houses through the bank,” he said during his remarks.

He added that housing officials are “moving along” in terms of aggressively relocating the other persons.

Approximately 50 per cent of the squatters have already received land allocations in housing schemes. Sea dams are no-squatting zones as occupation hinders drainage works, poses flood risks and is a safety threat.
$78 billion was allocated in the 2024 budget to further develop Guyana’s housing sector. As reported by this newspaper, 706 homes were completed at areas including Anna Catherina, Edinburg, Great Diamond, Leonora, Lethem, Nappi, Ordnance Fortlands, Prospect, Williamsburg/Hampshire, and Yakarinta. The construction of an additional 487 homes is underway.

Meanwhile, for moderate-income earners, 370 houses were completed at Amelia’s Ward, Cummings Lodge, and Little Diamond, with ongoing efforts being made to construct an additional 222 homes.