The Story Within The Story…An Update of the Housing Sector

Sep 13, 2015 Features / Columnists

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By Leonard Gildarie

A few weeks ago, we re-examined the process of housing applications and I did promise to get an update from Government on the status of housing schemes and thousands of applications. People have been calling about their applications and the status of the roads built.
I had written that there are about 10,000 applications pending on file.
I did manage to catch up with Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott, who has responsibilities for the housing sector. Also there was the Land Development and Administrative Manager of Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Denise King-Tudor.
Minister Scott said a lot and I will attempt to summarise.
There are an estimated 25,000 applications for houselots on file. This translates to about 100,000 persons that are likely to benefit.
I don’t see the demand being brought down to a manageable level within seven years.
It is unlikely that the new administration will pursue the “old” ways (I use the word old very liberally) of how it deals with the demand for housing.

According to Scott, it is a fact that people were approved for houselots. But incomplete infrastructure works, including electricity, roads and water, have delayed and discouraged persons from building, leading to frustration and stalled schemes.
The holistic plan, Minister Scott insisted, is what the Government describes as cohesive communities. All the infrastructure works will be ready at the time of issuance of houselots or turn-key homes.
These “cohesive communities” will have to include community centres, schools, fire stations, police stations, stores and even industrial sites to encourage jobs.
He noted that the 1,000 homes project initiated by the previous administration was not a bad idea- the new Government will seek to improve it by speeding up the infrastructural works. There have been significant complaints about the quality of works on the turn-key homes.
There will be delays in homeowners moving in their property but this is to ensure that the communities are completed, the minister admitted.
Since taking office in May, Scott said that CH&PA immediately started an assessment, processing backlog of applications dating back as early as 2008. Applications made in 2012 are being addressed now.
Asked about where the houselots are located, Scott said that Guyana has vast lands. The reality is that 54 percent of all applications on file are demanding lands in the Region Four area. No easy tasks as there are not much lands left in the region for development.
Currently, allocations are ongoing for the areas between Prospects and Little Diamond, on the East Bank of Demerara.
There are also lands available in Stewartville, West Bank Demerara and Commings Lodge.
Housing schemes at Williamsburg (Berbice); Lethem (Region Nine); Bartica (Region Seven); Mabaruma (Region One), Linden (Region 10) and Lethem (Region Nine) are being addressed as well.
The minister also disclosed that the One Stop Shop exercises have been halted as problems were recognized. These include questions about the discrepancies over different prices for the same size of lands which were approved during the exercises, leading to questions over the transparency of the process.
Many persons have complained about paying for lands and still awaiting word from CH&PA.
The complaints are being dealt with as they are brought in.
There is the idea to issue 5,000 houselots within the next five years with 200 turn-key homes to be completed and handed over this year.
The Ministry is also examining ways to bring down the costs of infrastructural works in the housing schemes, including new ways to build roads and culverts and even the actual homes.
Scott said much more and I do intend to analyse.
What I do know is that last week, the Minister and several staffers, including engineers, visited the stretch of lands between Providence and Little Diamond where housing developments have been taken to another level.
However, there are significant delays. Several of the plots are incomplete with little work seen.
Several private developers, who have received large plots of lands, were summoned to meetings with CH&PA on Thursday and given a February 2016 deadline to finish infrastructural works like roads and bridges.
One contractor doing works in the areas behind Farm and Covent Garden has been fired.
In fact, an inspection found that persons are grazing their cows in lands where houselots should have been.
One can literally drive from Providence to Little Diamond, using the inter-connecting roads.
While some areas have homes, the level of home occupancy was low with many of the roads still to be done.
At the remigrant scheme where 100 lots have been given out, the roads were poor and occupancy was low.
Minister Scott has reportedly ordered the infrastructural works to be speeded up as the remigrant scheme was suppose to be a showpiece of the East Bank Demerara developments.
Next week, we continue on other aspects of housing raised by CH&PA and the Minister.

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