Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority of Guyana (CH&PA) Lelon Saul has said that Guyanese who have the means to purchase land on the open market should do so, while assuring that land prices will not increase despite the anticipated oil-driven economic boom, which is usually accompanied by an increased demand for land.
“Don’t come here…we are for the small man…,” Saul said during the Authority’s end-of-year press conference yesterday morning.
Revealing that he has considered that the CH&PA should revise its criteria for suitable applicants, Saul said the CH&PA operates to serve “the small man” and added that “those who have the means to go on the open market to purchase land should do so.”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Guyana will experience an 85% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020.
While GDP speaks to the quantum of local production, as opposed to any general economic prosperity, such developments tend to push the cost of land up, due to increased demand for both commercial and residential use.
In fact, commercial and residential demand in such cases often share a relationship, as persons and entities seeking land for residential or commercial use usually operate, or are seeking to operate in the oil and gas and surrounding sectors.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, however, Saul said the Authority’s mandate is to provide affordable housing and housing solutions to Guyana’s working class. “We cannot raise prices because of economic development,” he added.
Saul also said that government will continue to subsidise the cost of land, which can take as much as $3 million to develop.
