President Irfaan Ali last night announced a slate of government measures, including the provision of free building materials and the reduction of mortgage interest rates for the working class, to accelerate his administration’s housing drive.
The new initiatives, which Ali announced while declaring the International Building Expo open at the Providence National Stadium, are to be rolled out upon the conclusion of the three-day event.
Ali announced that for homes costing $6 million or lower, the Government of Guyana with effect from the last day of the expo will support home ownership by giving every builder in this category the steel and a sling of cement that is required to build a foundation.
He added that for homes costing more than $6 million and up to $25 million, the government will provide two slings of cement. His second announcement was met with cheers and applause from those in the audience at the packed stadium.
“In consultation with the banks and understanding what we have just done to further expand the housing programme, the banks have agreed that there will be no percentage requirement for loans below $6 million because of this policy of the government. So you don’t have to find the 10% and 20%…Once you qualify through the joint window system, the government is with you now [and] the commercial banks are with you. No requirement because of this singular policy…,” Ali declared.
He also said the commercial banks have also agreed to reduce housing mortgage interest rates by up to 3.8% for loans up to $9 million.
Such a measure, he pointed out, is coming at a time when the rest of the world is hiking their interest rates on home mortgages.
Ali said the measures are to support the aggressive drive in the housing sector, make homeownership more affordable, lift more Guyanese out of poverty and increase the net worth of every single Guyanese.
“My dear friends, the journey to prosperity has begun. The journey is powered by one dream—One Guyana. Whether your political views align with the government or not, you have a seat in that vehicle…,” Ali underscored.
Since taking the helm of government 24 months ago, the PPP/C-led government has been aggressively pushing to achieve its campaign mandate of delivering 50,000 house lots to Guyanese during its five-year term in office.
In addition to the announced measures, the Ali-led government has raised the threshold of low-income mortgages from $8 million to $15 million. The government had also announced zero-rated construction materials in certain categories.
Confidence in the economy
The Head of State pointed out that non-performing loans declined over the past two years from 11% to 6.72%.
Household loans, the President said, improved to 13%, while the total loans in the country grew by 20% to $310 billion. “That is what confidence people have in the economy. Loans grew by 20% to $310 billion but what was more important mortgages grew $16 billion or 21%. That is the net effect of the programme we are running,” he noted.
Ali went on to state that with the measures in place there is positive growth in the financial sector. As of May, total lending in the construction sector amounted to $15.6 billion, “a 50% growth since we took office in August 2020,” he pointed out.
“You don’t have to love the government to be proud of this. You just have to love the country and love development to be happy about this,” he said.
Ali also launched a video presentation of Vision 2030, which showcased planned major developmental infrastructure for the country.
He told Guyanese the artistic impressions for the projects were not dreams or fairytales but a glimpse of Guyana by 2025 and beyond. He stated that development will be rapid.
The presentation highlighted waterfront development of the seawall, Silica City, Palmyra and other areas across the country, the construction of super highways linking the coast to the hinterlands and by extension northern Brazil, and the expansion of infrastructure of the industrial, commercial and agriculture sectors. The developments are to also include many modern recreational and public facilities.
Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal, in brief remarks, said the government would be channeling some $30 billion into the construction of 3,500 housing units in communities along the coast. In his breakdown, he said 1,500 units will be built at La Bonne Intention, 1,000 at Leonora and 1,000 at Wales. He said units would also be built at Silica City.
He noted that over 1,200 units are under construction across the country and 300 units have already been allocated to families.
He further stated that to date they have allocated some 12,000 house lots in regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10.
The ministry, Croal said, over the next two days is preparing to allocate some 5,000 new house lots in Great Diamond/Grove, East Bank Demerara; Enmore, Nonpareil and Enterprise, on the East Coast of Demerara; and Met-en-Meerzorg and Stewartville, on the West Coast Demerara.
‘A different lifestyle’
Croal also highlighted that the demands for housing and land today are vastly different from previous times.
“Now citizens want a different style. They want a different choice. They want prefab (prefabricated), they want pre-built houses and so the rapid, evolving housing sector has also brought its own unique demands for modern housing, particularly condominiums…,” Croal added.
The minister stressed further the expo presents new constructions ideas and options to prospective home builders. He said these options will give home builders the chance to construct environmentally-friendly homes and aid in combating climate change.
“We have grown accustomed to building with concrete and wood but with global challenges of climate change and environmental exploitation, we must now pursue constructive technologies which will reduce our carbon footprint,” he said.
According to Croal, the technology showcased at the expo will change the views of people bringing awareness of better methods of home construction.
He stated that the technology on show will challenge people to reconsider their building methods. These methods will promote energy efficiency, eco-friendliness and offer more durable and affordable options, “which will challenge our contractors and engineers as well as our architects and financial institutions to take new risks and increase their capacities.”
The construction methods, he pointed out, will also be beneficial to the country and provide options for homes in the developing Silica City.
The Housing Minister added that over the next few years some $100 billion will be spent on regional infrastructures and building works across the 10 administrative regions.
“These works will begin to close the development gap between the coast and the hinterlands and inject new life in other areas,” he said.
