Indigenous leaders welcome $750M for hinterland housing subsidies – Guyana Chronicle

– Regions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine to benefit

THROUGH the Ministry of Housing and Water, some $750 million will be invested in full and partial housing subsidies to hinterland communities in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) as a means of increasing access to affordable housing for indigenous peoples.

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal made this commitment on Wednesday, as he presented before indigenous leaders from across Guyana currently in Georgetown attending the five-day National Toshaos Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal.

Those leaders have since praised the initiative.

“It is a very good effort by the government for the Amerindian communities. We have some communities with a lot of persons living with relatives or neighbours.

So, this will be good for those type of persons,” commented Peter Francisco, Toshao of Kurukubaru village, Region Eight.

To ensure transparency and accountability in the process, the village council and residents will identify the families who are most in need to benefit from this programme, Minister Croal said. Those most in need will benefit first.

“It’s good that as a first preference they’re giving it to people really in need of this project. So, it’s a very good initiative and taking care of our people who are really in need of these buildings,” said Micah Davis, Toshao from Toka Village, Region Nine.

He further noted that: “It is a very good initiative that the government is taking to help those persons suffering to build their homes and to maintain their homes, because this will help them to actually improve their standard of living.”

Unlike housing programmes on the coastland, all costs will be waived for the beneficiaries of this hinterland-focused programme.

Additionally, some materials to build the housing units will be sourced from the benefiting communities. For each housing unit, the ministry will employ two skilled persons, while the beneficiaries will provide three additional workers.

Desmond James, Toshao of Red Hill in the Mabaruma sub-district, shared that though his community is not benefitting from the initiative in this round, he is nonetheless heartened to see the initiative coming about to benefit his indigenous people.

“The ministry cannot give everybody housing at the same time, so what the ministry’s doing is looking at villages that really need it right now.

But in the future, we would get our chance. My village will not be getting right now, but this is a very good thing that the government is doing through the Ministry of Housing and Water because we need that assistance,” James commented.

This programme adds to previous assistance that the government has given to Amerindian communities in the past. Some 750 households across more than 35 communities previously benefited from full housing subsidies and roof-replacement subsidies.

This new subsidy programme is similar to the existing Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP) implemented on the coastland, which targets low-income residents who are interested in applying for core home support or a home-improvement subsidy.

The home-improvement subsidy enables persons in identified target boundaries to receive up to $500,000 in materials to upgrade their homes free of cost.

The projects are part of the government’s promise to facilitate affordable financing for home ownership, and adds to a slew of measures being implemented in Guyana to make housing more affordable and accessible to citizens.

In addition to a promise to allocate 10,000 house lots annually, the government is also pushing to promote home ownership among youths and young professionals.

The government is, additionally, investing in support infrastructure in existing and new housing schemes, and has removed taxes on building materials to facilitate improved accessibility to home ownership.