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CH&PA to improve 2000 homes and improve 250 shacks for poor families … with US$27M IDB loan
Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Patterson
The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is set to construct 250 homes for poor families, as well as provide home improvement subsidies for 2000 families.
Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Patterson, urged people to capitalize on these opportunities, at a press conference yesterday at the Ministry of Communities.
This Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme is being funded by a US$27M loan from the Inter-American Development Bank. The programme has four main sectors– affordable and sustainable housing, consolidation of existing housing schemes, implementing support and institutional strengthening.
The full scope of this project will include East Coast Demerara, up to La Bonne Intention; as far as Grove/Diamond on East Bank Demerara; Georgetown, and La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, including Onderneeming,Westminster and Lust-en-rust. The Minister noted that no communities outside of the scope of the project will be considered.
The Affordable and Sustainable Housing or Core Home Support Project was established to build 250 homes for persons or families who live in low-income households, which are deemed to be inhabitable conditions. This project will cost US$5M.
Donna Bess-Bascom, Community Development Officer, said that the project only considers persons living in housing areas that have been developed by the CH&PA, giving special preference to single parent households and persons living with disabilities.
In order to qualify, the person or family must be occupying the allocated low income lot, and must be the owner of the lot. She noted that the owner must have completed payment for the lot.
For this project, the beneficiary is only expected to make an equity share contribution of $100,000. However, the Minister noted that there were issues of affordability faced by beneficiaries during the execution of the pilot project.
She said that persons struggled to make the contributions. Therefore, they will be given one month to pay 50% of the contribution after they have been indicated of their selection for the project, then three months to complete the payment.
Consolidation of Existing Housing Schemes is the aspect of the programme that will operate to dole out home improvement subsidies. Unlike the Core Home Support Project, this project is not limited to housing areas developed by CH&PA, and will consider all housing areas within the scope of the project.
It will also give preference to single parent households and persons living with disabilities. This project will cost a total of US$5M.
At least 2000 families will be given up to $500,000 to purchase materials for improvements on their homes. These improvements are intended to include earthen or wooden floors, replacement of walls with more durable materials such as bricks or higher quality wood, electrical works, plumbing and sanitation, replacement of pit latrines with indoor toilets and septic tanks, and modifications for people living with disabilities.
The funding will also accommodate expansions/extensions of houses in cases where the house is deemed overcrowded.
The beneficiary household is expected to provide 100% of the labour for home improvement works.
Programmes Director, Omar Narine, said that the Implementing Support aspect of the programme involves the upgrading of 34km of asphaltic roads, 20km of drainage improvements (with concrete drains, where necessary), 8km of solid works (including brick or concrete structures and pavement stones), and the installation of solar integrated street lights, in keeping with the Green State Development Strategy.
CH&PA also intends to construct eight recreational facilities. This aspect of the project will account for US$16M of funding. The remaining US$1M will finance Institutional Strengthening.
Narine urged the private sector to gear up to meet the demand for materials necessary for the project’s implementation.
The application period for this project is November 1, 2018 to February 1, 2019. Local democratic organs within project areas will be used as distribution centres for application forms.
The IDB has granted no objection to the CH&PA’s procurement process, which will operate by way of a competitive, international bidding process set to begin within a week.
Works are expected to start in the first quarter of 2019.
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