Over one hundred low-income residents of Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, yesterday signed contracts that will see them benefitting from the construction of core homes and home improvement subsidies.
The signing was held by the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) at the Parfaite Harmonie Primary School. According to a release from the CH&PA, Collin Croal, Minister of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, Minister within the Ministry and the CEO of CH&PA, Sherwyn Greaves were present at the exercise.
Before the signing of the contracts, Head of CH&PA’s Legal Secretariat, Hannifah Jordan, explained the contract terms to beneficiaries. A session for concerns to be addressed was then facilitated by Director of Community Development, Gladwin Charles, Deputy Director, Donell Bess-Bascom and team.
Yesterday’s event follows the inking of $163 million in contracts between the CH&PA and the contractors executing the projects. Twenty-five core homes will be built through this phase of the programme and 118 home improvement subsidies granted.
The core homes will be no less than 330 square feet single-family homes with concrete blocks for the outer walls and floors, basic doors, windows, electrical wiring and water connections. The release said that the homes are designed to meet basic standards that a family can move into and affordably expand over time. The home improvement subsidies will comprise $500,000 granted in the form of building materials for repairs to walls, floors, electrical works and sanitation improvements, among others.
The deals are part of the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank. The release said that the programme previously encompassed communities from Georgetown to Grove on the East Bank of Demerara, up to La Bonne Intention on the East Coast of Demerara and West-minster, Onderneeming, Recht-Door-Zee, Lust en Rust, and Parfaite Harmonie Phase II on the West Bank of Demerara. It has been recently broadened to include nineteen communities on the East Coast of Demerara, widening the boundary to Victoria.
