Govt hands over 4 new core homes to Sophia families
Four residents of Sophia, Greater Georgetown are now each proud owners of their own homes, acquired under the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Core Homes programme. Recipients of the four homes are Charles Henry, Claud Cyrus, Pauline Nedd and Belinda Ali.
The keys were handed over to each of these persons on Thursday, during an engagement with subject Minister Collin Croal to update core home-support beneficiaries on the progress of their homes.
Each of these newly-constructed homes features two bedrooms, a kitchen, and washroom facilities, thus providing comfortable living spaces for the beneficiaries.
Funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), this initiative requires a beneficiary to be a landowner and to contribute $100,000 towards the cost of constructing the home.
Two beneficiaries who received keys to their core homes on Thursday
A total of 49 homes were expected to be constructed in the Sophia area, but only 15 have been completed. Croal noted that, despite the various challenges, the remaining 34 homes will be constructed promptly, and he has assured homeowners that they would receive the keys to their homes by the end of May. He added that his team had engaged the pool of contractors to sort out any misunderstanding and issue that had been affecting the timely completion of these homes.
“We can commit to the 34 of you here present that all 34 of the remaining homes will be completed on or before the end of May, so that we can assure you here today,” Minister Croal has said.
However, he disclosed that one of the main challenges arising from the program is the defiance of new homeowners concerning their contractual agreements.
“We have had cases whereby persons move in and they want to keep the other structure… You can’t sign an agreement… so it’s seven days after you move in you have to dismantle the old structure. You have to keep your end of the bargain too, because, as I said, there were checklist conditionalities that we had to verify,” Minister Croal has said.
A total of 49 homes were expected to be constructed in the Sophia area, but only 15 have been completed. Croal noted that, despite the various challenges, the remaining 34 homes will be constructed promptly, and he has assured homeowners that they would receive the keys to their homes by the end of May. He added that his team had engaged the pool of contractors to sort out any misunderstanding and issue that had been affecting the timely completion of these homes.
