Housing boom continues in Guyana

Dear Editor,
Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, on Friday, said something of immense value to all Guyanese. This was at the Marriott Hotel (during the celebration of the 76th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China). The PM, in referring to Guyana’s continuing ‘housing overdrive’ explained that the time has come for “Guyana to significantly benefit from China’s expertise in this (housing) sector.” He explained that “by leveraging its extensive experience in large-scale, affordable housing construction and urban planning, to comprehensively develop our infrastructure, the country can continue to chart its course on a rapid development path, with Chinese expertise, to drive large-scale, affordable housing construction and urban planning.
First, without going to the statistics in housing (land and homes), I venture to say that there is a need for ‘speedier’ work on the ground. It is not far-fetched to say that the Chinese house construction output evinces “… advanced modular pre-fabricated systems for rapid assembly of factory-made structural components, leading to high efficiency and cost-effectiveness, as well as traditional methods using materials like timber, stone, brick, and tiles for historic architectural styles.” In other words, they are qualified, equipped and most eager to ‘hit the ground’ in terms of providing homes for Guyanese, and right across the spectrum too, as their “… modern innovations are used for everything from capsule homes for dense urban populations to large-scale residential and commercial projects, often utilizing steel for frames and advanced engineering for safe, durable, and affordable housing.” I mean, don’t we need a rapid output (of durable homes)? With the Chinese about to step in (if given the chance), we are talking about teaming up with tested companies who have already been engaged in home and infrastructure construction internationally, particularly in developing countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
On our local scene, and as the PM pointed out, “Notably, past collaborations between the two countries (Guyana and China) in infrastructure and health, such as the construction of six regional hospitals and the new Demerara River Bridge, have demonstrated China’s ability to deliver complex projects efficiently.”
As far as I can see, we need to ‘catch up’ as the Dr. Irfaan Ali-led administration has ‘long time now’ exceeded its house-lot target in less than five years, by delivering over 50,000 house lots to Guyanese from every income bracket, which stands in sharp contrast to just over 7,000 lots that were distributed by the previous administration during its entire tenure in office.” I cannot help but applaud the PPP/C Administration, as this is clear evidence that the party was most deserved of remaining in control of the leadership of Guyana.
Editor, the plan from the PPP/C Government, via the Ministry of Housing, is to build 40,000 more homes over the next five years, and this is in keeping with Government’s 2025 Manifesto promise. We can expect this to be a reality, as PPP/C’s track record inspires confidence.
How about some great drivers, where local housing is concerned: low-interest rates at the local banks; the steel-and-cement subsidy programme; the Core Home Support initiative (falling under the $5.8 billion Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP), targetting vulnerable families and provides them with affordable core homes); and the housing subsidy and the construction of community grounds.
Let’s judge candidly our government’s housing program, assess its effectiveness in creating a sufficient supply of affordable, accessible, and adequate housing for its population. What do we get? Nothing but unabated commendations. It is indeed a great time to be in Guyana-a housing dream, once forlorn, is now an everyday reality.

Yours truly,
Raymond Anderson