THE successful housing programme being carried out by the government continues to make great strides and even its opponents have to concede this.
One striking feature of the programme is that it does not simply involve the distribution of house lots but also focuses on developing infrastructure in the established housing schemes across the country.
The government is also working in partnership with the banking sector to help would-be home owners get affordable loans and simplify the process of accessing them.
Undoubtedly, this has contributed to a housing boom and increasingly more people are acquiring their homes, which is a dream of almost everyone.
However, many people are still finding it difficult to build their houses, especially those from the poorer sections of society and the government, being cognisant and fully aware of this problem, has been paying attention to it.
In this regard, it has formulated and implemented several schemes for those in the low income bracket. So, it is not a case where only the better-off are able to build houses.
In another tangible step towards helping poor people own their homes, contracts worth a total of $105M were signed on Monday for the construction of the first batch of 98 core houses, under the Ministry of Housing’s Second Low Income Housing Programme (LIS2).
The signing was the initial phase of the scheme that will see the units being erected in five designated areas: Westminster (One and Two), West Bank Demerara;  Area ‘B’ Lusignan and Section ‘EE’ Non Pariel (One and Two), East Coast Demerara; Block ‘D’ Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice and Tabatinga, Rupununi.
The LIS2 is a Government of Guyana/Inter-American Development Bank (GoG/IDB) funded programme that has, as one of its components, the building of 400 such units in a pilot project that addresses issues of affordability and sustainability with interventions by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Irfaan Ali, said the signing marked the commencement of the initiative, announced in the presentation of the 2010 National Budget, as one of the strategic targets of his ministry.
“It is, indeed, another accomplishment in terms of achieving our set targets,” he stated.
Mr. Ali said that G$440M (US$2.2M) has been allocated for the implementation of LIS2, which includes the constructing of the core homes.
Additionally, he said that G$200M more has been earmarked for the execution of the Hinterland Home Improvement Programme, another undertaking the ministry is working aggressively to have realised.
Chief Executive Officer of CH&PA, Ms. Myrna Pitt, explained that the units will be awarded to those beneficiaries in new and existing schemes who have satisfied the eligibility criteria and cannot afford to build their homes.
She said the current design would enable the owner to expand as affordability improves or to increase the size.
The success story of the housing programme is clearly continuing, not only enabling thousands to become proud home owners but also creating employment and stimulating business which have a positive impact on the national economy.