$13M in contracts inked to commence construction of homes in Reg 1

– 31 residents from Kokerital receive land titles

The Housing and Water Ministry through the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CHPA) on Saturday inked $13 million in contracts to kickstart construction of the first ten wooden elevated homes under the Hinterland Housing Programme at Smith Creek, Region One (Barima-Waini).
The contracts were presented to the Chairman of the Community Development Council (CDC), Sherman Lewis, during an outreach at the Mabaruma Learning and Resource Centre.
Subject Minister, Collin Croal stated that the contract signing is the fulfilment of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s commitment to resolve issues in the community. This promise was made by the President during a visit to the area in 2019, while on the 2020 elections campaign trail.
“As a result of that, today we have three contracts that will be signed; one for the supply of labour that will come from the community; one is for the supply of sand and stone and one is for the supply of the timber,” the Minister said.

“The environment of Smith Creek cannot continue as to how it is and similarly, we will be making interventions to ensure that they have a proper source of water and that we eliminate some of the health and other concerns.”
Meanwhile, the CDC Chairman related, “The people feel proud to know that the commitments and the promises will come to reality and the majority of the community will be involved in like building the houses [and] cutting the material, so they will earn money.”
Each home is expected to have three bedrooms and measure approximately 20x25ft. The community has approximately sixty-four (64) households, however, the CDC Chairman noted that through community consultations, the most vulnerable persons will benefit from the programme.
Through the Hinterland Housing Programme, one hundred housing units are expected to be constructed across Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.
Meanwhile, 31 persons who were allocated lands at Kokerital Hill in the Mabaruma sub-district of Barima-Waini (Region One) received their Certificate of Title over the weekend, after several years waiting.

The residents were presented with the ownership documents by Minister Croal, who stated that the exercise is intended to bring happiness and satisfaction to the residents so that they can move forward. He also said that it is important for hinterland and riverine communities to receive equal access to the housing opportunities present on the coastland.
Allocations at Kokerital began in 2000, with some 113 persons – primarily low-income earners – receiving house lots. However, the processing of Titles was affected due to land ownership issues and the area recorded a low occupancy rate.
In April 2021, Croal committed that CH&PA would work with the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) on the legal framework to rectify the issue. While 20 of 31 individuals were issued with titles on Saturday, 11 persons were re-issued following rectification.
Additionally, 21 persons were also able to register for their Titles. New applications for house lots and the Steel and Cement Housing Subsidy programme were also processed at the activity.
Overall, Region One has a backlog of over 170 applications. As such, the Minister noted that the Ministry of Housing & Water is pursuing land acquisition to address the housing demands of the region. Moreover, a Regional Housing Officer is expected to be appointed in 2023.