The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) will construct 2500 low-income houses in the coming months using a loan that was obtained from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
This was related at a sensitisation programme held on Thursday at the Regency Hotel on Hadfield Street, Georgetown. According to CH&PA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lelon Saul, the homes will be constructed at a cost of less than $4 million each, for persons who are most in need.
“The programme basically will target low-income communities and these communities basically are the Sophia, Cummings Park area going along the East
CH&PA CEO Lelon Saul
Bank…”
Also among the areas to benefit are Westminster, West Bank Demerara; Eccles and Farm on the East Bank Demerara along with Success on the East Coast of Demerara as well as Agricola, Greater Georgetown.
It was pointed out that persons will be eligible to have a home built if they earn $75,000 or less per month, are citizens of Guyana, already own transported land, and are vulnerable, in that they are exposed to the weather, are single parents or even live in areas prone to overtopping of sea walls.
While the CH&PA has taken on the responsibility of providing materials and labour for construction, the beneficiary will be required to make an equity share contribution of $100,000 and pay small fees for costs related to obtaining a housing plan.
They will be required to make an application to the CH&PA, which will subsequently visit their home to check that the applicant’s present home is
Some of the houses perviously built by Ministry of housing
uninhabitable.
The homes will be built under the CH&PA’s Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme.
Under this programme, subsidies of as much as $500,000 will also be granted to persons using the same criteria to improve their homes. These improvement works will include upgrades to walls, roofs and other necessities.
Saul was keen to note that “adequate housing should not be dealt with flippantly, rather it should be seen as a right to live somewhere in security, peace, and dignity”. While the home improvement component of the programme will cost US$10 million, another aspect that will see infrastructural work being done such as the installation of solar powered street lights, construction of walkways and other projects will cost US$16 million.
