The Government has launched what it says will be a major push to eliminate the housing backlog in Region Five, with close to 1,000 house lots being made available as authorities move to fulfil a commitment to address outstanding applications in the region.
Speaking at the Ministry of Housing and Water’s “Dream Realised” outreach in Rosignol on Friday, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal said the exercise marks the start of efforts to tackle pending applications during the Government’s current term.
“Our manifesto commitment says, for regions like yours, that we will intend to clear all of the pending applicants,” Croal told residents.
He added, “Today [Friday] is the day that we will start the process to implement our 2025 five-year mandate of ensuring we fulfil that commitment here in Region Five.”
According to the minister, the Central Housing and Planning Authority has more than 4,000 applications recorded for the region. However, he noted that some applicants may have migrated, relocated or already acquired housing elsewhere.
To meet demand, Croal said Government has been working with the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to secure additional lands.
The latest allocations are being made in the Experiment and Track A-O developments, with priority given to persons who attended the October 2024 allocation exercise but were unable to secure lots because of limited availability.
Beyond distributing house lots, the minister said work is already advancing to ensure the new developments are equipped with the necessary infrastructure.
“We have already completed the design, and within a month you will see the advertisement out for the infrastructure work for this area,” he said.Croal also disclosed that more than 550 certificates of title were available for distribution at Friday’s exercise. These included over 330 titles for lands at Experiment and 189 in the Blairmont-Shieldstown area, while another 20 titles are expected to be issued to residents in regularised areas of Blairmont.He said title processing has improved significantly in recent years, with more than 1,000 titles processed in Region Five.
“When we came in as a Government, your titles were taking longer than six months,” Croal said, noting that additional staff and improved systems have reduced the processing period to approximately three months.
The exercise also saw support being provided to persons constructing homes through Government’s steel and cement subsidy programme. More than 90 residents were expected to benefit, receiving a combined $21 million in assistance. To date, over $73 million has been distributed under the initiative in the region.Meanwhile, Croal announced plans to expand housing development further east in Region Five.
While lands remain available in the Borma area, Government is now pursuing additional acreage for a housing scheme in the Mahaicony area.
“We are currently working to identify or to acquire some lands to develop a housing scheme within the Mahaicony precinct,” the minister said. “For those who are listening in Region Five and asking what happened to them at that end, we haven’t forgotten you.”
The announcement is expected to bring relief to residents in eastern Region Five who have been calling for housing developments closer to their communities.
