THE government is advancing plans to expand housing opportunities for communities along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, with Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, indicating that the initiative is aimed at ensuring families have greater security through home ownership.
McCoy made the disclosure while addressing Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations at Silver Hill, where he outlined several housing initiatives being pursued along the highway corridor.
He said the government’s housing programme is intended to ensure that families, including those in Amerindian communities, have access to secure housing and the opportunity to own their own homes.
“Having your own home is one of the best securities that any family could have,” McCoy told residents.
Against this backdrop, he said the government is working to streamline housing opportunities along the corridor, pointing to several projects already planned or under development.
Among these is a new housing scheme at St Cuthbert’s Mission, where McCoy said works had recently been advertised.
“That is going into the mission where we would have a brand-new housing scheme with houses so that our people that need a house on the highway would be able to access those,” he said.
The minister also highlighted housing initiatives targeting specific groups, including young professionals and single-parent women.
He said young professional houses were being developed at Puruni, while houses at Yarrowkabra would cater to single-parent women.
According to McCoy, the Yarrowkabra houses will also include shade houses which beneficiaries can use for agricultural production.
The produce, he said, would be sold to the government, providing an additional source of income that could assist beneficiaries with their mortgage payments.
“And those houses also carry a shade house that can be used and will be used for them to harvest crops, to plant and harvest crops that will be resold to the government and monies that they could use for their mortgages,” McCoy said.
He went on to add that the government was also examining additional lands along the highway to facilitate larger-scale housing development, with the broader objective of improving the economic and social security of families in the area.
“We are looking for other lands on the highway to do large-scale housing so that our people can be secure,” he said.
The minister further linked the housing initiatives to the wider development of Amerindian communities, arguing that heritage celebrations should also recognise the progress being made in improving living conditions and economic opportunities.
“We cannot celebrate heritage without celebrating development,” he said.
The minister also pointed to planned interventions in transportation, agriculture and small-business development as part of efforts to strengthen livelihoods along the corridor.
He affirmed that the government would continue working with Amerindian communities to expand infrastructure and create opportunities that allow residents to build sustainable livelihoods.
“We will continue to be your partner in development,” McCoy said.