Gov’t seeks suppliers to distribute construction materials across Guyana

Oct 18, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – As part of its ambitious campaign to propel home ownership in Guyana, the Government is seeking suppliers that can aid in the distribution of construction materials across all 10 Administrative Regions in the country.

Minister of Housing and Water, Colin Croal

In an advertisement published in one of the daily newspapers on Sunday, the Ministry of Housing and Water, through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) explained the steps that will be involved in the process.

President Irfaan Ali had announced in July, during the launch of Building Expo 2022 that first time home owners would be eligible for free steel and a sling of cement to start building the foundation of their home.

According to the Expression of Interest that invited suppliers to submit proposals for the provision of the building materials, applicants for the programme will be qualified by the Housing Authority which will then issue a voucher to the successful applicant. It did not explain the requirements or screening process but added that the voucher will then be used by the beneficiary to redeem their steel and cement package from the various suppliers.

The Ministry specifically pointed out that it would like suppliers from each Region to participate in the programme which will allow for persons in the Hinterland to benefit as well.

In the meantime, suppliers who are interested in participating in this opportunity can submit their proposal to the Chief Executive Officer of CH&PA.

The specification of materials that are required to provided are 42.5 kg/sack ordinary Portland cement (TCL quality or equivalent); quarter inch diameter steel rods and half inch diameter (12.5mm diameter) steel rods, among others.

In making the announcement at the National Stadium, Providence, President Ali said, “I wish to announce first that for affordable homes, homes $6M and below, the Government of Guyana with effect from the last day of building expo will support home ownership by giving to every builder in this category, the steel and one sling of cement that is required to build your foundation.”

As the president made this announcement, screams of excitement erupted from in the crowd.

But President Ali did not end there. He further noted that every other category of home ownership which includes young professionals and middle income will also receive cement to build their foundation.

Ali said, “To persons building homes from $6M to $25M, we will give two slings of cement.”

Kaieteur News understands that one sling of cement is equivalent to 35 sacks and the current price per sack is around $2000. That means that government will be giving away approximately $70,000 worth of cement to affordable home owners and $140,000 worth of cement to individuals in the middle income and young professionals’ category.

After the announcement was made, Opposition Economist Elson Low told Kaieteur News that the initiative is likely to be marred by fraud and discrimination.

He said that the government has been and continues to put band-aids on issues as they arise, rather than implement strategic solutions to resolve them.

He reasoned that most of the population currently does not own their own homes and that the situation is likely to escalate over the next few years as foreigners rush to Guyana to cash in on the oil boom, securing prime lands for their own development. Not only that, but he explained that another factor to be considered is the extensive migration pattern of Venezuelans into the country, citing that this number may be as high as 30,000 already.

However, Low argued, “In the face of this, the government continues to put band-aids over the problem rather than developing a comprehensive housing strategy based off of an assessment of the needs of the country. This is why we see hundreds at a time, not thousands of low-income homes built and these random solutions, such as providing concrete or steel.”

He made reference to the hand out of COVID-19 cash grants to families across Guyana, insisting that low-income households that needed the assistance the most were left for last. Arguing that he feels select persons would benefit from this drive, Low suggested that a better method to incentivise home building was to introduce a home builders’ rebate programme. According to him, “If the government wants to incentivise home building it should offer a home builder’s rebate, which is a fixed amount each person who builds a home can claim, varying based on the value of the house, during construction to offset the cost of building their house.”