2500 to benefit from Housing Assistance

Oct 06, 2018 News

CH&PA’s stakeholders

The Central Housing and Planning Authority has announced plans to provide affordable housing to 2500 beneficiaries, specifically those from low income communities across Guyana.

This was announced by the CEO of CH&PA, Lelon Saul, at the organisation’s sensitization session for its stakeholders, at the Regency Hotel, yesterday. Saul explained that this endeavour comes under the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme.

The Programme has four components. The first, Affordable Sustainable Housing, aims to provide financial assistance to lower class workers. The second component, Consolidation of Existing Housing Schemes, is meant to provide persons with home improvement subsidies. They also intend to provide Implementation Support (US$16M) for the targeted communities by building asphalt roads, concrete drains, streetlights and pedestrian crossings. Finally, the Institutional Strengthening aspect of the programme will allow the CH&PA to train representatives of Georgetown and the targeted areas to provide urban community services and climate-friendly assistance to the beneficiaries of the programme.

Some families, Saul explained, stand to benefit from free housing, provided that they are in possession of a house lot and make less than $75,000 per month. The houses to be built are estimated to cost $3.9M. For the benefitting families, the focus will be on persons who may be living in poor conditions, especially in single parent households. Further, situations deemed as eligibility criteria are of co-existing nuclear families, families living in high risk areas, such as flood zones, , and other specific situations, which the CH&PA will examine on a case-by-case basis. The beneficiary would only be expected to pay an equity share contribution of $100,000.

As for Home Improvement support, persons from low income and/or single parent households, especially where women are the matriarchs, stand to benefit from subsidies of US$2,500.

Interested Contractors should note that CH&PA will prioritise security of tenure, availability of services, quality of building materials and infrastructure, and affordability.

Some of the communities mentioned as key areas for the programme are Sophia, Onderneeming, Parfait Harmonie and Westminister.