Close to 300 apply for Govt’s home construction assistance – Minister Croal

Close to 300 persons have already registered for the Government’s Home Construction Assistance Programme, which provides assistance to Guyanese to access finances to construct their homes.

This was revealed by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, during a recent interview with reporters. According to a DPI report, he said that of the 300 persons who registered since applications opened on May 30, some 100 persons were pre-approved by the banks for financing to build their homes.
“It means that they [registered persons] will eventually move to the pre-approval stage. For some of them, they may be short of a particular document to show to the bank. Some instantaneously got their approval on the spot,” Minister Croal explained.
The Minister said that the programme extends to persons who own lands acquired through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) or privately.
He clarified that “It is not for structures that are in progress, it is for persons who have their lands, and have difficulties getting that start-up to build.”
Minister Croal further explained that it is important that the applicant shows ownership of the land, since it will be used as the equity to the bank.
“What they do, is for example if five per cent works out to $500,000, then that amount goes towards the overall cost for the mortgage…In essence, you can have zero and get the financing to build your home.”
Under the Home Construction Assistance Programme, applicants can select one of three categories of units available. These are two-bedroom flat units costing $7 million, three-bedroom flat units for $9 million and three-bedroom elevated units at $12 million.
The programme is the brainchild of President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali. It seeks to accelerate the Government’s housing drive, while also addressing challenges faced by Guyanese families who have acquired Government or private lands but are unable to build their homes, due to inaccessibility to financing and issues with contractors.
Applications for the programme officially opened on May 30 at the Ministry’s Head Office on Brickdam, Georgetown and a number of persons have capitalised on the opportunity. It was then taken to Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) last week and over 60 persons were registered.
The programme is expected to be launched in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on June 14.
On May 16, the Head of State announced a series of new measures to boost the housing and construction sector including the establishment of a Home Construction Assistance Facility and the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on specific construction materials.
Under the assistance facility, President Ali had explained that Government will support the applicant through the process of applying for bank financing, to meet the cost of constructing the home and would also look at helping in the initial phase of construction by releasing resources to expedite the construction process and help in bringing the banks and the homeowners together so that persons own their own homes faster.
“The Government will also undertake the construction of home on behalf of the applicant and deliver to the applicant a complete home in accordance with the option selected. We expect that this measure will help drastically accelerate the capacity of Guyanese families to own and occupy their own home and house lots they’ve already owned or that they have been allocated but on which they are currently having difficulties managing the complex process of homeownership and also having access to financing,” he stated.
The Guyanese leader contended that his Administration has recognised that there is a great need in society for prospective homeowners to have a one-stop or a comprehensive solution to take away the burden of going through the bank.
Meanwhile, the other measure announced by the President was the removal of VAT on sheetrock and concrete boards until the market stabilises. Already, the Ali-led Government has removed VAT on a wide range of basic construction materials including cement.