40% of 10,000 Govt-distributed house lots awarded solely to women

…not as a wife, not as a co-applicant, not as a partner, but in their own right – Rodrigues

Tuesday marked International Women’s Day and it was, therefore, fitting that it was revealed that 40 per cent of house lots distributed in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s first year in office, were allocated solely to women, in their own right.
This was revealed when Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, made an appearance on a local radio programme. She underscored the importance of what was, in fact, a transfer of wealth.

“In certain parts of the world and at one point in our history, women were not allowed to own property. So, as a minister that is responsible for transferring property, transferring wealth to our people, I was so encouraged and I have to speak about our tremendous track record in the short time that we’ve been in office.
“I checked, because it’s International Women’s Day. And of the 10,000 house lots that we have distributed so far, we’ve exceeded that now, but in our first year, 2021, out of the 10,000, just about 4000 went to women in their own right, meaning women whose application was in their name alone,” she said.
“Not a wife, not a co-applicant or a partner, but women in their own right who had their own application, who are the sole owner of their new lot that they will, hopefully, go on to build their home.”
“That is a tremendous achievement for those 4000 women….it’s a massive transfer of wealth to these women, it’s empowering, I’m sure,” Rodrigues said.

According to the Minister, these women now have some amount of financial independence and can make self-determining decisions for themselves, instead of depending on someone else to make life-altering decisions for them.
Nor are these 4000 women the only women who would benefit from homeownership, since there are thousands more who have applied for a house lot at the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) as co-applicants with their spouse or a family member.
With the delivery of Budget 2022 back in February, the Government of Guyana is aiming to accelerate an already robust housing plan that will include the distribution of 15,000 house lots for the year.
Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal had previously told Guyana Times that the 2022 plans include the distribution of 15,000 house lots as well as the continuation of the home improvement and subsidy programme.
Of the $552 billion in the Budget, $12.4 billion had been allocated for the housing sector. This figure had included money to build out the infrastructure required to sustain these house lots, including roads.
Since taking office, the PPP/C Government has made it clear that it was aiming to fulfil its manifesto promise of distributing 50,000 house lots over the next five years. The Housing Ministry has also said it would work with other State agencies to make more land available for housing development.
These agencies include the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL); the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). Land acquisition for housing development would be pursued. (G3)