by Abbisola Oxley
Havana, Cuba – Recent changes to Guyana’s housing policy now allow for Guyanese in the Diaspora to buy land for residential and commercial development without having to re-migrate to the homeland.
This was disclosed Tuesday by the Guyana’s Housing Minister, Valerie Patterson Yearwood when she met with a delegation from the Guyanese American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) at the Guyana Embassy in Cuba. The minister, who is also currently visiting Cuba, explained that the David Granger administration has amended the housing policy to remove the requirement that these lots be available only to remigrants.
“We have taken the decision to change the policy regarding the remigrant housing project at Providence on the East Bank so as to make these residential and commercial lots accessible to Guyanese overseas even if they are not ready to return to live in Guyana. We have relaxed some of the stringencies regarding the length of time required to develop the land because we know some people will buy a lot and wait until they return home to build. We are not encouraging people to hold these lots for long periods, but we understand that some people have a few years before they retire and are ready to re-migrate,” Patterson Yearwood said. Under the new policy persons who buy lots would have up to three years to build.
The minister also advised that lots acquired cannot be resold prior to 10 years of ownership and that penalties would apply to persons who sell these lots before the 10- year period is up. “But here again we don’t want to encourage this and expect that people would not seek to exploit the program,” she said.
Questioned about the availability of housing for low income Guyanese, Minister Patterson said that through her ministry and the government’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) lots as well as low income homes are being built around the country, especially on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara.
The visiting delegation found the minister’s presentation most informative and congratulated her and the Guyana government for tackling the critical issue of housing, particularly for low income earners. The minister also fielded questions about investment opportunities in the housing sector.
(This report is made possible through the kind sponsorship of Surinam Airways and DMC Travel).
