Sophia residents welcome home improvement subsidies

“I am very happy, and this is a great help that I’ve received, because you cannot rely on others…seeing that we get it, you gotta accept it, and I’m gonna do my house for my birthday”, an excited Jacklyn Haynes of Cummings Park, Sophia, Greater Georgetown expressed after receiving her beneficiary contract valued at $500,000 on Thursday last.
Similar to Haynes, a total of 118 residents within the Sophia area have received their beneficiary contracts, which would aid in the renovation of their homes.
This initiative was made possible by the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) through the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme.
The Housing and Water Ministry is on a quest to develop and transform communities, which would ultimately have an impact on the livelihoods of their people.
“We will not be inconsiderate to the disruption of everyday lives of our Guyanese people…as we continue to improve communities to make investments in infrastructure and in housing construction in these communities, we do not want people to fear this type of development. We do not want people to feel like their everyday lives have been invaded or inconvenienced”, Minister within the Housing & Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, told residents.
Further, she stated that inconveniences can be necessary at times, and the onus is on the Government to make the sacrifice and reach out to those who have been affected in order to bring normalcy back into their lives.
The initiative, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is an effort to provide better access to adequate housing and basic infrastructure for low-income populations.

Low-income areas spanning from Grove on the East Bank of Demerara to Victoria on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), along with those low-income areas located in La Parfaite Harmonie in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), are currently being targeted in this project.
The project cycle, which began in December 2017, will run up till December 2022. In addition to the $500,000 subsidy, the project would see the construction of 250 core homes.
On Thursday, Sophia residents were excited to be recipients of the subsidy, which can be used to repair roofs and walls in order to bring expansion to homes and reduce overcrowding therein, as well as create sanitation improvement and rainwater harvesting, among other projects. The subsidy can be redeemed at National Hardware Guyana Ltd and at Camex.
This project is part of the Government’s housing drive, which would see 10,000 house lots being handed out in 2021. The areas which would be developed for allocation this year include Onderneeming in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Tuschen, Zeelugt, La Parfaite Harmonie, Westminster, Lust-en-Rust and Belle West in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Farm, Covent Garden, Providence, Prospect, Perseverance, Peters Hall, Good Hope, Mon Repos, Non Pareil, Hope South and Hope Estate in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); and Bath Settlement, Hope and Experiment in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
Also included are Ordnance Fort Lands, Kilcoy and Chesney in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); Culvert City in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); and Amelia’s Ward, Linden in Region 10.