Govt’s home construction assistance programme see Lindeners taking advantage of it

Residents of Linden, Upper Demerara-Berbice, (Region Ten) were out in their numbers at the Watooka Guest House on June 1, to take advantage of government’s Home Construction Assistance Programme.

President Irfaan Ali had conceptualised the initiative and will provide assistance to Guyanese with government or private land to access finance to construct their homes. Officially launched on Monday, Ali said that the initiative has already seen Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal has accepted close to 90 applications.

Croal disclosed that the programme is part of the Government’s aggressive national housing programmes that will see Guyanese given the opportunity to become homeowners. The minister noted that in the case of Linden, the government is aware of the challenges within the housing sector. He said, as such, steps have been taken to implement initiatives such as the 1,000 homes initiative to meet the housing needs of the mining town. Croal noted that additionally, over 300 house lots were allocated to residents in Amelia’s Ward.

“The housing programme that is being implemented in your community will not only provide a safe space for you and your families, it will make for a stronger community, and be a source of employment and entrepreneurship and this, in turn will drive the overall development of the region,” the residents were told. The housing minister stressed that that while the government is pushing its housing programme in communities across the country, simultaneously it is investing billions of dollars to ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place within communities.

He disclosed that under this initiative, applicants can select one of three categories of units available. These are: are: two-bedroom flat units costing $7M, three-bedroom flat unit (bungalow) for $9M and the three-bedroom elevated units at $12M. The minister revealed that registration was conducted on the spot at the Watooka Guest House by a team from the Housing Ministry’s Housing’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) along with representatives from the New Building Society (NBS) and Republic Bank Limited who accepted applications for loan processing.

Additionally, the minister noted that the application process will continue and persons can visit the Linden Regional Office from Monday to Friday during working hours. Croal added that persons can also visit the ministry’s website at www.mohw.gov.gy or www.chpa.gov.gy.