1,000 house lots distributed at Non Pareil, Enterprise

…new applicants urged to be patient as Govt working on new housing schemes

…pre-2019 applicants urged to use online portal to update info

The Housing and Water Ministry, through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), on Wednesday hosted their Dream Realised Housing Drive on the East Coast of Demerara, where one thousand individuals representing the pre-2019 backlog, were given the chance to become landowners.
The front lawns of the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC) were transformed as approximately one thousand prospective landowners gathered to pull lot numbers. The beneficiaries are being allocated lots at Non Pareil-Phase 2 and Enterprise-Phase 2 on the East Coast of Demerara.

According to Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, the government has big plans for these two housing schemes, which will together accommodate approximately 3,000 house lots. He also noted the importance of these allocations, which will help clear the over 40,000 house lot backlog that has been in the system since before 2019. Croal revealed that $18.2 Billion is being spent on infrastructure this year by the ministry, including in Non Pareil and Enterprise.
“This year, we have about $18.2 Billion being spent for infrastructure development. And these include areas such as Good Hope, Non Pareil and Enterprise, various phases and blocks. More than 25 acres of land being catered for 7,582 residential lots.”
“For Region Four, we have also begun the construction of over 2,307 houses that are at various stages. Which means some have been completed and persons are already living there. Some are nearing completion. And some, obviously, construction has now commenced,” he further explained.
Meanwhile, Minister within the Housing Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, also stressed the need for persons waiting on house lots to be patient, as the government is hard at work making land available. Rodrigues also noted that there is an online portal designed to make the house lot allocation process more transparent. She encouraged persons to make use of it.
“Whenever we pull names or applications from our system to call people for allocations, many times a large amount of the phone calls we make we can’t reach people. People are constantly moving and changing their telephone numbers.”
“And that poses a very significant challenge for us at the Ministry when we need to get you. And some people say, when they come in, that they know somebody who was called. They applied the same year as them, but they didn’t get a call.”
The minister noted, however, that when the Ministry does check its records, it is to see that such applicants were indeed contacted with the offer of a house lot, but could not be reached due to incorrect information. She noted that this is a daily occurrence at the Ministry.
“And that’s why, as a further installment of our commitment, we launched 10 or 12 days ago, an online platform. We set up this platform for people who have applied at the Ministry 2019 and prior. Because as we said, we’re treating the backlog with priority. So, if you have an application, 2019 and prior, you can use this online platform, enter your information, update it if it has changed. And we’ll be able to reach you,” Minister Rodrigues said.
Earlier this month, some 1,500 residents of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) received their house lots during the Housing and Water Ministry’s first ‘Dream Realised’ housing drive for 2024 at the Guyana Water Incorporated’s (GWI) compound at Klein Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
The recipients were allocated lands at Wales Phase Two housing development, which is scheduled for massive upgrades this year. The new scheme would accommodate about 5,000 residents and would be outfitted with a nursery, primary and secondary schools; a post office, a playground, a police station, a daycare center, a magistrate’s court, and other amenities.
As part of its manifesto, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had promised to deliver 50,000 house lots by the end of its first term in office; the Government has allocated $75 billion in its 2024 budget to continue the housing programme. Some 10,000 house lots are scheduled to be distributed this year. (G3)