Georgetown: Houselot application processes are currently under review says Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott.
He noted that some necessary changes to allow more Guyanese the opportunity to secure lands.
Underscoring that the main focus of the new procedure would be a total review about the qualifications necessary to obtain a houselot from his Ministry.
“We are conscious of the fact that some people may never be able to obtain houselots under the present requirement stages and thus have set out to review the necessary qualifications that they would need in order to obtain one. We are concerned about the welfare of our people and want to be able to cushion them. We have to do some changes in order to meet the needs of more people,” said the Minister.
He explained that the major focus would be on reviewing the qualifications necessary for those who require low, middle and high income lands.
“Maybe those who earn $75,000 or less per month will be able to qualify for low income house lots after we are finished revamping the cut-off stages. For those earning, let’s say, $200,000 or more per month will most likely be in the high income level, and between those two would be categorised as middle income. We are aware that the cost for infrastructure is very high for many Guyanese, and hence we want to ensure that as many people as possible get the opportunity of owning their own lands and houses,” posited Minister Scott.
Guyana Times was told that the cost of land and owning homes presently is “too high” and that the present Administration is seeking ways and means to “lower” the costs.
“For the turn-key system where houses and land are being sold at $4.9 million, we are giving them basic infrastructure but they would have to build their own drains and such. If we do more, then the price would have to go up but we don’t want that because we want the citizens to be able to afford their own lands and houses. In fact, we are working on plans that would benefit more people out there and see them being able to afford homes and lands easier than before,” he stated.
This publication was further told that the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), which falls under the Ministry of Communities, is looking to make adjustments to the house lot application forms, where persons will be able to identify their desires more accurately.
“Instead of saying which region they desire or want their house lots to be in, we would have an extra column to state which housing scheme in the desired regions they would want. This would make it easier for us and for them. We have had a lot of cases where people are allocated lands at certain places but they keep coming into the Ministry because they don’t want the spots allocated for various reasons and by having this column there it would help them and us to determine exactly where to place them while taking in their preference of course,” Minister Scott explained.
He said the Ministry is seeking to ensure that housing schemes reflect “cohesiveness” and that the CHPA is also pushing for “self help” activities by citizens.
It was noted that the Ministry of Communities has active considerations to someday allow persons to obtain land for a very cheap cost or perhaps even for free and they would establish their own infrastructure and homes on the plots.
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