20 houses to be built for vulnerable residents in Meriwa, Karisparu

The government, through its Hinterland Housing Programme is working to improve housing for 20 vulnerable families in the Karisparu Village and Meriwa settlement located in Region Eight.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, and Senior Engineer, Ci Rodrigues from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) met with residents on Saturday and Sunday to kick start the programme.

Discussions focused on selecting beneficiaries following consultation with residents to ensure everyone agrees with the procedure.

Those benefitting are single parents, elderly and persons living with disabilities. Ten families in each location will receive new, elevated timber homes, bringing hope for improved living standards.

The undertaking will also see residents benefitting from gainful employment. Villagers will be contracted to provide wood, stone, sand, and other materials for the buildings.

“This housing programme is a partnership and your village will be the partner in this programme. The government will provide the finances to pay materials and labour,” Minister Sukhai emphasised.

She stressed that every Guyanese, in every corner of Guyana must continue to benefit from the government’s investments.

“There is no village, there’s no community, there’s no settlement or satellite in the hinterland that has not been touched by the PPP/C Government in a positive way,” she expressed.

Additionally, 10 families in Tuseneng and Itabac will also receive homes under this initiative.

The construction of these homes will add to the significant number of investments already made in the region, including health, education, public works and Amerindian enhancement projects.

To date, around 400 homes have been built for families across Regions One and Nine.

These initiatives signify the government’s unwavering commitment to the first people, with increased financial resources being provided to the villages annually.

These include the capital projects funded by the government through the ministry, the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) and the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.

Some $4.7 billion was disbursed directly to 242 Amerindian villages as part of a multi-year agreement with Hess Corporation for the sale of 15 per cent of Guyana’s carbon credit.