A deliberate and malicious attempt to let the government look bad

Oct 09, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
As we approach the giving season of Christmas, I do not want to appear as the evil Grinch. But I find it necessary to debunk a letter written by ‘Name Withheld’ with the caption, “When will I get my house lot?” (Kaieteur News, Oct. 7). If this is not a despicable ploy by the opposition, it is at best, a deliberate, and malicious attempt to let the government look bad in an election year.
The author (whom I will refer to as ‘she’ because Guyana is not known to have many single parent who are men) began this letter by declaring, “I am a single parent, living on a meager salary in a rental apartment with no other income, paying utilities bills while I travel by public transportation daily from out of town.
I have applied to the Ministry of Housing for a house lot; I was called earlier this year for an interview. And until now I have been making numerous phone calls and visiting the Ministry back and forth with no update on the process of my application.”
According to the Central Housing & Planning Authority website (http://www.chpa.gov.gy/index.php?option=com_content& view=article&id=53& Itemid=58), they have allocated over 79,735 house lots over the past fifteen years.
The criteria for allocation is simple, and applicants who have satisfied the requirements are issued with an Allocation Offer letter. This process takes a period of 3 months to one year depending on the availability of house lots in the schemes requested. Allottees are required to make an initial 50% down-payment for the land, and applicants who did not qualify for a house lot will be sent a rejection letter.
The fact that she did not receive a rejection letter after the interview, is a positive sign. But as clearly stated above, this process takes between 3-12 months, and by her own admission, she was interviewed “earlier this year”.
This means that she is still within the 12 months time frame given. So why the need to sensationalize this application at this time? Could it be politically motivated?
I understand the desire for anyone to own a home, but some people just can’t afford one. The house lot will cost her a mere G$92,000 (US$460.) or $59,000 in special cases. Even if she can afford to pay the minimum, which bank will qualify her for a loan to build a house on a “meager salary”? Where will she get the money to repay the mortgage? Must the government give her that too? I know this is election year, but it’s a bit too early for Christmas.
In her letter she wrote, “I had also applied for the core home, and was not so fortunate to be a beneficiary although I am a single parent living in a rental apartment and working below the salary scale.”
If this person could not qualify for a core home, how can she qualify for a house lot which carries as a condition, a commitment to start construction within six months? Being “a single parent living in a rental apartment and working below the salary scale” is not the only qualification, she has to be in a position to pay the cost of the house lot, and to have enough equity, and left-over money from her salary after expenses, to secure a mortgage from a bank.
Then she must be in a position to repay that loan to avoid foreclosure. Banks have responsibilities to the people who save their monies and invest with them, they will not give her a loan just because she’s poor, On the contrary, she will be denied a loan for exactly that reason.
I do not know the reasons she is a single parent struggling with a meager salary, but she must be applauded for that.
However, it’s a bit disingenuous that she seems to be blaming the government for the bad choices she has made that caused her to be in that position, and expect them to issue handouts. This person may be in need of a house lot, but the first step is to make herself more marketable to secure a better paying job.
Harry Gill

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