The government is working to eliminate Region Ten’s housing backlog by the end of next year, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said.
Speaking during a public day outreach at the Watooka Complex in Linden on Tuesday, Jagdeo said the backlog of pending house lot allocations in Region Ten stands at just over 3,000 applicants.
“We are working on enough house lots to clear all of this by the end of next year,” he said, noting that the government is also moving to regularise land tenure for nearly 1,000 residents who have been living on lands owned by NICIL or occupying areas without legal title.
Jagdeo told residents that developing a single house lot costs the government about $5 million, while beneficiaries purchase the lots at a heavily subsidised price of approximately $500,000.
He also outlined a new national housing assistance programme targeting different income groups. Under the initiative, the government will construct small one-bedroom homes for the most vulnerable citizens, including abandoned elderly persons, persons living with disabilities who cannot afford to build, and families facing extreme hardship.
For low- and middle-income households, certified contractors will be paired with financial institutions to help beneficiaries who already own government-issued land secure financing to construct homes.
About 20,000 people currently own house lots but have been unable to begin construction because of financial or technical constraints, Jagdeo said.
The Vice President also announced plans to introduce housing improvement grants for middle-income earners and expand access to homes for young professionals through financing arrangements backed by Government.
