Dear Editor,
The New Building Society must be commended for consistently bringing down the mortgage interest rates. According to media reports, interest rates have declined further for all categories of loans even though the loan ceilings have increased significantly.
There can be no doubt that the housing drive initiated by the government along with easier credit arrangements facilitated by the banking sector have impacted significantly on the housing sector making it possible for thousands of Guyanese to own their own homes, which under the previous PNC administration was a distant dream for the average Guyanese family. Many Guyanese were forced into squatting on state lands in order to obtain a roof over their heads. The current PPP/C administration has not only provided thousands of house lots at highly subsidized cost to eligible Guyanese but have also regularized many of the squatting areas by putting in the necessary infrastructural developments such as roads, electricity, potable water, health and educational facilities among other amenities. Sophia is just one example of government’s intervention to regularize and upgrade the status of erstwhile ‘squatters.’
Guyana is experiencing a housing boom. Throughout the country, the landscape is changing with the proliferation of new housing schemes, the construction of new homes and the modernization of existing homes. This development is a direct result of the emphasis placed by the current administration on making housing accessible to all Guyanese in keeping with the government’s philosophy of people-centred development and ‘development with a human face.’
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally