Haslington families receive core homes

Three families from Haslington, East Coast Demerara, are celebrating homeownership after receiving keys to new houses under the Ministry of Housing and Water’s Core Home Support initiative.

The programme is being implemented by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as part of the wider Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP).

Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal handed over the keys and electrical certificates at a recent ceremony, alongside CH&PA Director of Operations Denise King-Tudor and Deputy Director of Community Development Donell Bess-Bascom, a release said.

Among the new homeowners is Maylene O’Dell, who expressed relief at no longer having to pay rent.

“I am so happy that I got this key that I would be able to go into my new home,” she said, adding that “It will help us in a lot of ways because we used to pay a rent of $30,000 a month so [now] we get our own house that money [will] go to something else.”

Evette Abrams, another recipient, said she was grateful for the support, having owned land for years but faced challenges building on it.

Each core home is valued between $5 million and $6.5 million and includes two bedrooms, a kitchen and indoor sanitary facilities. Beneficiaries contribute $100,000 toward construction, offering a more affordable alternative to renting.

Component 1.1 of AHUAP—Affordable and Sustainable Housing—supports both core home construction and home improvement subsidies, which provide materials for home repairs.

The programme targets the construction of approximately 300 core homes and the disbursement of 916 home improvement subsidies, ranging from $500,000 to $750,000.

The initiative covers communities from Georgetown to Grove on the East Bank Demerara; Hope on the East Coast Demerara; and Westminster, Onderneeming, Recht-Door-Zee, Lust en Rust and Parfaite Harmonie Phase II on the West Bank.

Applications for the initiative are now closed, and all beneficiaries have been selected

On the East Coast Demerara alone, an estimated $243.25 million has been invested so far to build 25 core homes and issue 148 home improvement subsidies.

Minister Croal observes the processMinister Croal observes the process