Pres. Granger vows to tackle homelessness
By Anara Khan
DPI, Guyana, Saturday, June 1, 2019
“Housing is essential to human existence and it is my mission to completely abolish homelessness in this country.”
This was announced by President David Granger, on Friday, as he visited the Perseverance and Prospect Housing Schemes on the East Bank of Demerara. The President was accompanied by Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan and Minister within the Ministry of Communities, with responsibility for Housing, Annette Ferguson.
“I would like to leave office where there is not a single homeless Guyanese… every Guyanese will have a roof over his or her head,” President Granger expressed.
During a meeting with the housing staff, the president explained the government’s new housing policy. He noted that the policy defined by the Constitution, is consistent with the United Nation’s International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966.
“My friends, the government’s housing policy did not drop out of the sky, it is taken from the constitution of this country and the constitution says – every citizen has the right to proper housing accommodation and I intend to give them that right.”
Government’s new housing policy is aimed at ensuring affordable and accessible housing for all. The president observed that this is far removed from government’s involvement in housing development over the past two decades, which revolved principally around the sale and allocation of house lots to individuals and the divestment of lands to private housing developers.
The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) was established in 1948 and is expected to implement government’s housing policy of ensuring accessible and affordable housing to low and middle-income families and provide for the holistic development of all residential areas.
Images: Ministry of the Presidency
