Annette Ferguson’s attack on housing is ill founded

Dear Editor,
It is grossly unfair to label the Central Housing and Planning Authority as being in disarray as declared by PNC Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson. Gone are the long and early lines in Brickdam where scores lined up for house lot-related issues. It is worthwhile mentioning that the PPP in its last 2 years has distributed more land titles and house lots than the coalition in its 5 years occupancy of the presidency. Ms Ferguson states: Guyana’s first President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the late LFS Burnham, whose policy on “feed, clothe and house the nation in 1976,” was indeed to make the “small man the real man.” Many institutions such as the mortgage finance bank, cooperative bank, agriculture bank, to name a few were established by this great visionary leader, to help the poor and powerless. Many of these institutions became non-functional during the unconscionable and unscrupulous PPP/C Government’s tenure during 1992 – 2015. The sad indisputable fact is that these institutions had faltered encompassing a lineage of failures as was commonplace under the Burnham dictatorship. I agree that the Burnham built Ruimveldt, Tucville, La Penitence schemes are highly commendable, however, many homeowners failed to make their monthly $18.00 mortgage payments. It was under Dr Cheddi Jagan that a vast number of defaulters actually received Titles to their homes and their mortgage payments waived.
Ms Ferguson extends her tirade in a most dishonest declaration “The coalition Government inherited approximately eight thousand (8000) squatters, on record, from the PPP/C in May 2015’. What she fails to mention is that when the PPP took office in 1992 it inherited over 20,000 squatters in which Sophia is the most glaring example. The conclusion of her letter is most comical: recommending that the PPP/C regime collaborate with the Ministry of Finance to establish a plan which facilitates CH&PA building rent-to-own low-income houses, single and duplex, and or enter into mortgage agreements which allow persons to pay CH&PA a monthly mortgage, without a down payment.
Ms Ferguson envisages Rent to Own. Rent to own evokes a litany of problems: (1) at what stage (5 years, 10 years?) will tenancy somersault into ownership (2) as one has to assume that there are no significant changes in family income and job location, (3) variable vs prevailing interest rates (4) structural damage to property (5) decline in property value (6) divorce, death, illness. The variables are unsafe too much for such a concept as the painful. Zero down-payment phenomenon produced, in 2008, the worst financial crisis the world has ever witnessed. The Housing Authority should not embrace financing properties as the body is not capable of such an undertaking: it sole function as a Government institution to evaluate applications and distribute land. In this regard, the leadership with the CHPA can do with some help.

Sincerely,
Leyland Chitlall
Roopnaraine
Real Estate Broker &
Builder