The housing problem
Editorial
Stabroek News
January 16, 2003
The efforts to deal with the severe housing problem they inherited have perhaps been the most significant achievement of this government. Some 50,000 house-lots have been allocated since 1992 and there are ongoing efforts to deal with all the subsidiary problems that have arisen and exist in connection with the installation of infrastructure (roads, drains, water, electricity) and helping people to build their homes on the lots they have obtained.
In a report on the performance of the Ministry of Housing and Water for 2002 and its plans for 2003, Minister Shaik Baksh noted that the focus of its activities had been to provide infrastructure and improve existing infrastructure in housing-schemes funded by central government and the Central Housing and Planning Authority Housing Fund, to implement infrastructural development in housing-schemes and squatter- settlements identified under the Government/ IDB Low Income Settlements Programme, the construction of low-income houses funded by a revolving fund, regularisation of squatter-settlements, processing and allocation of titles to give allottees security of tenure, institutional strengthening of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, implementation of the Management Information System, training and upgrading of staff, completion of the Greater Georgetown Development Plan and the preparation of plans for new towns and upgrading of existing towns, consistent with the framework for urban development outlined in the National Development Strategy.
The report gave some figures for actual performance in the year 2002. 4915 house-lots had been allocated out of a goal of 5,000, 1507 in Region 4 and l,382 in squatter-settlements. It had been hoped to construct 500 houses in various housing-schemes over a 12-18 month period. A revolving housing-fund had been established of some $238 million and so far 134 houses had been completed at Diamond, Grove, Coldingen, Cornelia Ida, Glasgow and No. 77 Village. 7,474 titles and transports had been processed for housing-schemes and squatter-settlements exceeding the goal of 5,000, 3,527 of these in Region 4 and 1,281 in Region 6. 13 squatter settlements had been brought under a process of regularisation. The target had been 20 as well as to complete the regularisation previously started for 66 areas. Infrastructural work had been carried out in some housing schemes and there were plans for other schemes. Community Development Committees had been set up in 24 communities and training programmes were to be instituted. New town planning legislation was being drafted and the Greater Georgetown Development Plan had been prepared which would include seawall development and more effective control of development in the city which is at present anarchic. It has been hoped to develop plans for New Amsterdam, Linden and Corriverton but no development planners were available. Development was in progress at Lethem, Parika and Charity.
The plans for 2003 were outlined in all these areas. It is also known that efforts are being made to get banks involved in providing mortgage financing for housing construction for low and middle-income groups. So far it has not been possible to get private sector developers involved.
At a time when there is so little to cheer about it is clear that there has been some progress in this sector though Minister Baksh will admit that the building of homes and the installation of infrastructure is way behind the allocation of house-lots. The huge challenge is to give this process a big boost by making housing as cheap as possible, providing access to financing at low interest rates and expediting the installation of roads, drains and electricity. One recalls that the Matalon group in Jamaica had been involved in large-scale low-income housing development many years ago and the government should search for precedents for the kind of incentives that can be offered to major developers to get them involved.
Housing is a basic need in any country and the government must continue to treat this as a priority for donor-funding as well as looking for innovative methods that have been used elsewhere to accelerate the entire process.
