Housing Ministry, GWI to resume some services

— under strict COVID-19 measures

— no disconnections for GWI customers, land surveys to continue

Minister within the Ministry of Housing, Hon. Susan Rodrigues, during an address on Thursday, announced the resumption of some housing and water services.

This comes after restrictions were previously placed on key services, according to the Minister. These include land allocation, updates of names to applications, processing of agreement of sale and title, interviews for new applications and all outdoor activities.

“I am pleased to announce that under strict COVID-19 safety measure guidelines, some of our services under CH&PA have resumed. These services include rangers patrol, residential house lot payment, surveying of lots; with one person allowed on that visit, and visits for planning permission,” the Minister stated.

Also, customers of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) will not be subjected to water disconnection, until further notice, as the utility company continues its services.

“Under GWI, all services have been resumed and we remain steadfast to our commitment, not to carry out disconnections during this time,” Minister Rodrigues assured.

She explained that additional measures have also been taken by the Ministry of Housing and Water to ensure that staff and customers are protected and reduce COVID-19 transmission.

“To keep the public and our staff safe, we have decided to conduct interviews for new applications virtually, via Zoom calls; while in-person interviews are done in very limited circumstances.”

Concerning overdue land applications, Minister Rodrigues said her Ministry will continue to work to resolve the unfortunate over-pile.

“We have inherited a backlog of land applications, lands that lack basic infrastructure, and in some cases, which are not even accessible and an allocation system, which is in need of thorough review. Nevertheless, we are committed to our mandate, and are working assiduously to address these challenges and will resume land applications as soon as practicable,” the Minister said.

She further reminded Guyanese that the PPP/C Government’s promise of improved quality of life, access to affordable housing and the delivery of potable water, will be realized

“We remain committed to each of those promises and are improving the standard of living for all of our people.”