Govt brings further relief to Guyanese through mortgage initiative Page 10
MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND WATER
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ood, clothing and shelter are universally regarded as the basic necessities of life: Article 25 of the UN Charter defines them as “basic human rights”. For a nation built on the exploitation of labour through slavery and indentureship, Guyanese could never take these necessities for granted. For housing, Martin Carter reminds us that we all came from the barracks of the “Nigger Yards”; the “logees” of indentureship were never too far removed from that sordid reality. After slavery, the freed slaves succeeded in one of the most heroic tasks in the history of the world when they left the sugar plantations to build their own homes in what was to be called “the village movement”. After the humiliations of the barracks where everyone had to literally live like animals with no privacy, even though humble, the houses in the villages meant freedom. At long last a family could enjoy the privacy to live in dignity. The next expansion in the housing stock would occur a century later when the sugar planters – shocked at the rebellion of the workers during the 1930’s decided by 1950 to move the workers off the logees from under the smokestacks of the sugar factories into new housing schemes. Eventually 12,000 houses would be built through small loans extended by the sugar producers which were to be repaid through deductions from their wages. These were small structures, eight feet off the ground on stilts, measuring roughly 22 feet by 24 feet plus a 10 foot by 12 foot kitchen to house what by then was the average family of 5!! By the time the PNC was ushered into office and Guyana became a Republic in 1970 housing had become a huge crisis area. In 1972 the PNC declared a five-year plan with the promise to “feed, house and clothe the nation” by 1976. In 1976, however, Burnham was forced to announce that his housing plan was a colossal failure. Figures compiled later showed that of the 65,000 houses promised, a mere 4167 or 6.5 per cent were completed. What was also significant was that these houses were almost uniformly situated in areas where his supporters resided. In the meantime, countless ‘squatter schemes” sprouted in areas where PPP supporters predominated – and in several instances the PNC unleashed bulldozers to raze them to the ground. More than anything else this exacerbated racial sentiments because of the ethnic political support base. When the PPP took office in 1992, one of its central planks to return Guyana to its feet and hold its head high in the comity of nations, was to make house ownership accessible to every Guyanese family. Today, twenty-three years later this goal has been translated into reality. Starting in 1994 the Government launched a national housing scheme focusing on low income citizens by 2001, 91 settlements providing 50,000 housing units were constructed.The government has estimated that it must build 5200 homes per year for at least 10 years to meet the national housing need. By 2015, over 18,000 squatting houses were regularised and over 100,000 house lots had been distributed. The Government more than exceeded its projected goal of 5200 houses annually. Under the “Low Income Settlement Programmes” poor households could apply to purchase house-lots at subsidised prices. They have up to two years to complete payment to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) after which they receive title/transport for the land. They are then eligible to approach a commercial
THROUGH A DYNAMIC HOUSING PROGRAMME What’s inside: Maintaining the rich legacy of the PPP/C Administration –
Housing sector sees boom in 2013 Page 4 The failure of Burnham’s “Feed, Clothe and House the Nation” Plan Page 6 bank for a loan of up to G$5 million (US$25,000) – recently raised to $8 million at a concessionary low interest negotiated between the Government and bankers for this benefit. Overall, the programme consists of the construction of Core houses and Turn-key houses by the CHPA, Remigrant housing programme and Mortgage Interest Relief. In addition to these direct benefits the CHPA takes care of the infrastructure. It prepares the land for demarcation for houselots, roads and drainage in each Government housing scheme. The CHPA/Ministry of Housing and Water builds the roads and drainage (Guyana is flood prone), and brings in the basic infrastructure for water and electricity. The houselot owner pays for the connection to his home from the road or nearest connection point. On completion of the scheme the CHPA hands over the scheme to the local government authority – Neighbourhood Democratic Council or Municipality. The Houselot owner then pays annual rates and taxes to the relevant local government authority. The subsidies for water and electricity – elderly persons can apply and access an annual waiver on their electricity and water bills once these bills are in their names. Finally, the small man has become the “real man”.
Making a dream a reality: Alison Craig tells her story
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Private Sector upbeat about housing development Page 11