On any given day, long lines can be seen being extended outside the Central Planning and Housing Authority. These can include young people who want to own their own home and those who have applied for land as much as two decades ago. There is always considerable talk about the significant backlog in the housing sector and that every government promises to address them. Despite these promises, however, very little remains to be done to build a sustainable action plan to tackle the housing crisis in Guyana.
There are many things that are lacking in the housing sector; these include the ad hoc way in which housing and community development of the country take place. While leaders are always keen to make devolution efforts a talking point, it rarely ever goes beyond this. The Government’s continued focus is on doing the bare minimum and people who are forced to take what they are given continue to see the stagnation of the sector. As a result, the rates of homelessness continue to grow especially during economic recessions such as the one we are currently experiencing.
According to a study released in 2016 by the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana has a housing deficit of 20, 000 units for low-income families. With a population still less than a million and a number falling steadily due to out-migration, the growing housing deficit and demand we are seeing is based on rural to urban migration patterns. There are many reasons for internal migration, key among them however is lack of appropriate / adequate jobs, infrastructure, educational constraints and lack of space for social activities. Any sustainable plan towards the housing sector needs to address the decentralization of economic, infrastructural and social development from being primarily within the capital.
Investing in areas outside of Georgetown’s sinking and overpopulation zones should not be said as a strategic move towards a future focused on growth and collective development. However, politicians continue to live in this day and age while citizens bear the brightest effects of their actions and policies or inactions.
Because of this lack of foresight and effort to focus on the development and growth of other areas, those fortunate enough to receive lands through the ad hoc land-granting process often find themselves struggling with the essentially a marshland. The general idea that all that needs to be provided to the people, seems to be the land on which someone can build a building, rather than a community that can grow commercially and has access to basic infrastructure, utilities and recreation space. Housing development is much more than just providing a lot of housing. Too often people are forced to build in places with little access to transport, schools, health centers, water and electricity. Of course, those most affected by this are low-income earners who may have no other choice than to strive to live on the land they are given, given that they can even secure it and ‘ to maintain.
After years of waiting for responses on their land application, many without prior notice receive calls that their application has been approved and need to pay for the land within as little as three days. Failure to make these funds can see them lose their chances of becoming landowners. This is an anti-poor strategy that seeks to weed out those they believe are less than deserving. Unsurprisingly, there is an ethnic element to who most landowners remain and those who continue to rent. Added to the short payment timeline, if construction on the paid-for land does not start soon, the government can retrieve the land and give it to another applicant. This is done even while being fully aware that most low-income earners are having a relatively hard time accessing construction loans or enough spare resources to start building on their own.
Currently, resumed talks about pre-approved loans to young professionals and low-income families are marching toward home and home ownership. While the Ministry of Housing and Water seems to benefit from the energy and direction of Junior Minister Susan Rodrigues, one can only hope that these efforts will be sustained and lead to long-term sustainable actions that are delivering housing and community development throughout Guyana. Politicians’ PR teams are always active but unfortunately, teams that focus on ongoing planning and implementation always tend to be a little less energetic.
Leadership on the housing sector must move away from being a political scoring point for personal brands and parties and instead focus on the ways in which the government is fulfilling its mandate of investing in the growth and safety of its citizens. The responsibility cannot continue to be placed on individuals and good non-profits to build communities from scratch when it is the State’s responsibility.