Housing Department briefs Police Officers on Government's new housing programme

(GINA) Seven hundred and sixty eight (768) families are expected to be housed in the first phase of the implementation of government’s’ new housing programme.

Members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are among those targeted to benefit.

Minister within the Ministry of Communities, with responsibility for housing, Valerie Adams-Patterson and a team from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), today engaged police ranks, stationed in Region Four on the government’s Housing Solutions for state employees. The sides met at the GPF’s Training Centre at Camp and Young Streets, Eve Leary.

The minister’s team comprised CH&PA’s Operation Director, Denise Tudor-King and acting Project Director, Omar Narine.

“We have come to you today, to share the new vision of this government, and to let you know that we are working on your behalf, and we are working to ensure that each of you own your home,” Minister Adams-Patterson told the ranks.

The Minister said the government will be maximising the use of its available service lands to offer a range of housing solutions that will cater to their needs, and those of other low, moderate and middle income persons.

Adams- Patterson stated that the CH&PA’s focus right now is to build duplexes and townhouses. She explained that these types of houses will accommodate a larger number of families as compared to giving house lots.

Meanwhile, the ranks heard from Narine that initially 265 buildings will be constructed and that these will be divided into 768 units, each housing a family.

Narine explained that each duplex will house two families and each townhouse, six families. Narine said that CH&PA will be constructing in the following areas:

Regions	Locations	No. of Duplexes	Town houses	Total Units
2	Onderneeming Phase Three, Essequibo	40		80
3	Onderneeming Phase One, West Bank Demerara (WBD)	25		50
3	Tuschen, Phase One, WBD	20		40
3	Plantation Laurentia, Phase One, WBD	0	19	114
4	Perseverance, East Bank Demerara (EBD)	0	19	114
5	Experiment, West Coast Berbice (WCB)	40		80
6	Ordnance Fortland, Canje, Berbice	30		60
6	Grant No. 2596, New Amsterdam, Berbice	40		80
10	Amelia’s Ward, Linden	40		80
10	Wisroc, Linden	30		60
Total		265	38	758

He explained that the townhouses’ dimension will be 22 x 26 square feet (sq. ft.) and the duplexes, 20x 40 sq. ft. He said that both housing options provide for units comprising two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and indoor toilet and bath.

The engagement with police ranks is part of an on-going exercise organised by the CH&PA, in collaboration with the Guyana Police Association. The exercise is in fulfillment of a commitment made to the association to address with urgency the housing needs of policemen and women.

As per this commitment, CH&PA in 2016, met with ranks in Regions Three, Five and Six and allocated house lots at prices ranging from $92,000 to $1.5M.