Duplexes for Region Seven

GINA, GUYANA, Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The town of Bartica, Region Seven is to be included in government’s plans to construct housing for low income households.

In an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) today, Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Adams-Patterson explained that the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) will be targeting the construction of at least 50 duplexes in the community.

“There are slated 50 duplexes which is 100 apartments…I know that is not enough to answer totally, the full demand of housing in the community, but that is just one part of our initiative for  the community. They are slated for everything that we are going to do in the future,” the Minister said.

Minister Adams-Patterson said that the Ministry is still to identify the lands in the community for the construction of the duplexes. The lands remaining in Four Miles and Five Miles Schemes cannot be used as they are no longer in keeping with the administration’s vision of livable and wholesome communities. The areas of Four and Five Miles, in Bartica, were previously identified by CH&PA for housing development for residents of Bartica.

“We have housing schemes there, and there are some more lands that are available there, but my visit there revealed, that a lot of the remaining lands, are sloped, they are swampy and so even though in our system, under the former government such house lots were allotted, I cannot allocate those lands for development…I cannot give people that kind of land,” the Minister explained.

Minister Adams-Patterson, who just under a week ago visited the community, plans to return with officials, to identify the lands for construction of the duplexes. The Minister will be accompanied by Presidential Advisor on the Environment; Rear Admiral (ret’d) Gary Best. Best is also in charge of the proposed Green Bartica Development Plan.

“He (Best) is willing to return with us to identify, which area we would now use for residential housing, and which area we would be using for commercial lots,” the Minister said. Government would be pushing for this to be done by the end of the year, the Minister Adams-Patterson added.

Government’s new model for housing, the construction of 5,000 apartments/duplexes is expected to cost $50 Billion. This new model seeks to improve the housing delivery system to address the backlog of 25,000 applicants, over 17,800 of which can be classified as low income households.

It also seeks to move beyond the provision of serviced lots to create livable and wholesome communities through the provision of full infrastructure; social facilities and services, and the supply of housing units.

 

By: Macalia Santos