President Irfaan Ali last evening announced that some 300 prefab homes will be built on lands already set aside to accommodate visitors for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and revenue from the venture will go towards home payments for the neediest.
“We are looking at a very innovative model. We are looking at a way in which we can marry cricket with uplifting people out of poverty. So, we are setting aside land to build 300 prefabricated homes. The prefab homes will be used during cricket to host people as rentals and the revenue from that rental will go as down payment to the banks for the poorest persons,” the president last evening said during the feature address of the launch of the Ministry of Housing’s Building Expo.
Ali said that housing and urban planning for this country has to be visionary while at the same time ensure that the poorest of persons are able to at least own a home.
It is why, he explained, that the homes being piloted in the “Cricket out of Poverty” initiative will only see about $15,000 to $20,000 as its monthly mortgage with 15 per cent of its overall costs coming from the Bed and Breakfast (B&B) programme to pay the banks as a down payment.
“The 10 per cent to 15 per cent they have to find for the bank will come from the revenue from the place. That will take up what they had to pay… The type of houses we are working out is about fifteen to twenty thousand dollars per month. That is the type of innovation we are talking about and we are having discussions about. These are the things that can really change the face of the country,” Ali posited.
And aside from the programme, the Guyana Tourism Authority has already launched a registry for persons interested in bed and breakfast hosting and from the “tremendous feedback received” there will be need “to take off some of the traffic coming.”
The president said that in addition to cricket, a number of other activities are planned and accommodations will be needed. And as cricket grows and more persons visit here, he said that Guyanese should be able to capitalise, especially the most vulnerable and poorest.
Ali told attendees last evening that when the Building Expo is launched, he hopes to see futuristic and technologically advanced development proposals from companies.
He noted that in this way, Guyanese will have world-class products that every strata of its society can benefit from and offer to visitors comings here. “The development of our country and understanding the development of our country can be done through this building expo. It is an opportunity to basically narrate the future through planning and through positioning… That is why the other sectors must be involved,” Ali said.
And reflecting on his tenure as Minister of Housing when a number of housing programmes were launched, he recalled that many doubted and criticised the vision his government had then. He said that the first Building Expo saw scathing criticisms with some even calling him insane. It is why, according to Ali, he will not be bothered now when developmental plans that are unveiled, are knocked down by critics.
“At that time, a lot of people thought it was crazy,” he said.
Building Expo 2022 will be held from July 22 to 24 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara, under the theme: “A new frontier for building a One Guyana”.
“Building Expo gives one the opportunity to understand the transformational changes in the country in the context of infrastructure and construction… if you are not part of Building Expo, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity that will put you in contact with tens of thousands of people. There is nothing in a marketing budget that Building Expo won’t give you and give you faster,” the president contended.
“…The Building Expo is designed to showcase the development trajectory of the government from a construction perspective. So that a person in the private sector, in the banking sector, in the commercial sector, can align their own vision and align their own business model with the direction in which the government is going,” he added.
Ministers of Housing & Water, Collin Croal and Susan Rodrigues, both underscored the benefits of especially the construction and building materials sector, as they urged businesses to participate as there is still time to register.
“This Expo provides rich opportunities for homebuilders, contractors, private sector and other stakeholders as well as local and international investors… be assured that our team at the Ministry of Housing and Water will do all that we can to ensure that your investment in this Expo is worth the while,” Croal said during his brief remarks.
