Latest update January 25th, 2025 3:32 AM
Latest News
- VP Jagdeo exposed on Gas-to-Energy project
- $350B in loans to fund 2025 budget-Jagdeo
- Judge blocks Trump’s ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ executive order that aims to end birthright citizenship
- UK Company installs monitoring system on four drill rigs in Guyana
- Former K/NEWS sports journalist loses home in Kitty fire
It is clear to see that the Ministry is not profiting from the sale of house lots
Dear Editor,
I wish to pen a response to the letter dated 22 September, 2011 by M. Maxwell. Mr. Maxwell seeks deliberately to manipulate figures so as to portray the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) as being involved in a major money-making scheme through the sale of house lots. This is far from the truth.
Firstly, I wish to point out that the CH&PA reported a surplus of G$226.2 Million and G$692.3 Million for 2009 and 2010, respectively. The writer inaccurately stated that the CH&PA made a profit of G$954 Million and G$1,248 Million for 2009 and 2010, respectively. In 2010, a record number of allocations, totaling 6,400 were made by the CH&PA.
These were made up of 75 percent low income house lots that cost G$100,000 each and 25 percent moderate to middle income house lots that range from G$300,000 to G$700,000 each. As reported in the financial statement of the CH&PA for 2010 the expenditure for the year was G$1.2 Billion, which included G$680 Million received from the Government for housing infrastructure projects. Income for the year 2010 was G$1.940 Billion, this includes the sum of G$889.2 million from the sale of house lots, which is obviously the bone of contention of the writer.
Mr. Editor, in light of the above facts, please allow me the opportunity to refute the claim by the writer that the CH&PA, more so the Government is profiting from selling Guyanese their own land. In 2010, under the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) US$27.9 Million Second Low Income Settlement Programme (LIS 2) the CH&PA expended the sum of G$1.573 Billion on infrastructure works in low Income housing schemes in Regions 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10.
Mr. Editor, in order to fully appreciate the amount of money that was spent on housing infrastructure projects during the year 2010 we need to add the G$1,573. Billion under the LIS 2 programme to the expenditure of G$1,248.3 Billion reported in the CH&PA Statement of Comprehensive Income, which gives a total expenditure of G$2,821.3 Billion and when this is compared to the total income received of G$1,940.6 Billion during 2010, the deficit, (not a surplus anymore) is G$880.7 Million! This truly reflects the reality that housing is subsidized and that the government is not profiting from the sale of house lot to poor people, as the writer falsely alludes.
Mr. Editor in order to reinforce the point of the level the subsidization that low income, as well as some middle income households benefit from, we need to look at the following facts presented in the table below:
The data presented in the above table shows expenditure in two (2) housing schemes that were completed and then allocated to beneficiaries in 2010. Firstly, Tuschen Phase 2 located at East Bank, Essequibo is a Low Income Scheme with 666 lots, with the per lot cost of putting in infrastructure being G$527,027. When this is compared to the selling price per lot of G$100,000, then it is very easy to see that the level of subsidization is 427 percent! Also, from the data presented for the middle income housing scheme located at Plantation Schoonord, where the average cost per lot is G$500,000, these lots are also subsidized at a level of 10.3 percent. Additionally, the cost of putting in Electricity is not included in the above table which means that the level of subsidization would be higher when this is undertaken by CH&PA.
Mr. Editor, in concluding I wish to state that from the facts presented above, it is clear to see that the Ministry is not profiting from the sale of house lots. In fact, in writing this letter, the Ministry is on a One Stop Shop Exercise today September23 at the Lusignan Community Center where hundreds more will benefit from the Ministry’s housing programme. I invite Mr. Maxwell to come down to one of these exercises to witness firsthand the transparent way in which the allocation of house lots is done.
Taslim Baksh
Finance Officer, CH&PA
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Development requires more than oil revenues
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- In one of the most impassioned pleas ever made, an evangelical Bishop Rev. Mariann Edgar... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
