Dear Editor,
There are numerous beautiful and exotic structures gracing the skyline of Guyana. This can be attributed to the people friendly housing policies being pursued by the Government of Guyana. Nevertheless, there are several challenges being faced especially by first time home owners in Guyana, embarking on the journey of building their dream homes. These challenges include, but not limited to, the unscrupulous behaviour of some contractors; inconsistent and unreliable building estimates given by contractors; poor quality of work given by construction staff and overseen by some contractors; poor advice given to the land owners during construction and finally the lack of customer service during and after the completion of the building project.
Over the last decade, it has been observed that many first time home owners have seen their dreams shattered, with some having to contend with unfinished building projects while repaying their mortgage, others having various degree of remedial works to carry out on their homes due to poor quality work completed by builders and yet others shortly after moving in their homes realized that their flooring may need reinforcement or that their roof is leaking profusely when it rains. As a result, of these various inconsistent levels of work quality and services being provided by some contractors and their staff in the building industry, it is time for the relevant authorities in Guyana, to once again examine the need to implement pertinent regulations to govern the building industry.
Although, building codes existed in some form more than three (3) decades ago, in 2012 the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) officially launched the National Building Codes of Guyana. Building codes specify minimum standards for the construction of buildings. These codes encompassed areas such as enforcement; fire safety; plumbing; hardwood; block masonry; structural steel; high rise buildings; foundation; septic tank and latrine standard. The main purpose of building codes is to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the construction and occupancy of buildings and structures. Importantly, the codes themselves are not legally binding. However, they can be utilized to develop regulations, which I emphasized may be needed in Guyana to reduce the high degree of frustration, fatigue, and mental stress a first-time home owner endures during construction of their dream home.
As stated back in 2012, by then Minister of Housing and Water and President, Irfaan Ali, “This consultation today is the commencement of that process of educating, training, familiarization, moving towards the firming up of the codes, then onward to the legislative agenda.” In conclusion, it will be great if the experts in the building industry and the lawmakers can once again engage sacrifice some of their invaluable time and recommence the conversation of Guyana having building regulations in place.
Sincerely,
Roy Orain Porter MSc