81 Region Four residents receive steel, cement vouchers at Building Expo

Eighty-one residents from Region Four can now begin construction on their dream homes as they receive their steel and cement vouchers valued at $225,000 each. 

Homes estimated at $6 million and below can benefit from one sling of cement and steel.

Meanwhile, builders with estimates above $6 million to $25 million will benefit from two slings of cement.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal and Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues led the distribution exercise at the international building expo at the National Stadium at Providence, on Saturday.

Several beneficiaries welcomed the housing subsidy as it will provide them with the opportunity to finally own their homes.

Mahadeo Persaud, a recipient from Good Hope, is now relieved that he has his voucher, enabling him to commence construction on his house.

“I feel happy now. I wanna thank the ministry for this help because it is not easy now to go and build your house just like that. I already started with the foundation so this will be a great help to continue,” Persaud expressed.

Another recipient, 69-year-old Ezeline Sawh, from Vigilance was also grateful for the voucher since she applied for it in 2023. She mentioned that she capitalised on the building expo to obtain her voucher.

Sawh pointed out, “I am so relieved after a long time. I took advantage of today and I got through. I am so thankful…It is a starting point. It gives you that encouragement to start and then, from there, you can improve on the structure and complete it.”

Sawh said that being a homeowner means everything to her since it provides one with immense satisfaction, peace and pride.

Echoing similar sentiments was Parbattie Singh who highlighted that she can now focus on building her home which will provide her with a stable environment.

“I can now start on my house. Because where I was living before, I got thrown out. I was getting pushed around all over…I am very happy about the voucher right now so my house can be complete,” Singh added.

Speaking to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Minister Croal reemphasised that the government will continue to provide the necessary housing support to Guyanese, ensuring that homeownership is made easier for them which will improve their standard of living.

This initiative was announced at the International Building Expo in 2022 and launched in the latter part of 2022. To date, over 520 vouchers have been issued to beneficiaries in Region Four. Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), Sherwyn Greaves was also present at the distribution exercise.