Copyright stabroeknews
Dear Editor, The October 25, 2025 editorial in the Stabroek News titled ‘Construction of 40,000 houses’ raised important questions about equality and inclusion in Guyana’s housing sector. How-ever, it was evident that the analysis was built on selective interpretation and or a limited understanding of the PPP/C Government’s housing policy. The first claim that the Government’s plan to construct 40,000 homes is incapable of addressing the housing deficit, particularly among low-income earners, misrepresents the initiative’s intent. The PPP/C’s housing programme was never designed to eradicate the entire shortfall within one policy cycle (2025-2030). Instead, it represents a phased, multi-dimensional approach that combines construction with land allocation, regularization, and affordability interventions. The 40,000 homes target complements parallel initiatives such as core homes, home improvement subsidies, low-income turnkey units, and the homestead programme that directly support vulnerable groups such as single-parent mothers. The focus, therefore, is not merely on quantitative output, but on improving tenure security, livelihood access, and affordability, consistent with international best practice as recommended by UN-Habitat and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The editorial’s reliance on World Bank poverty data (suggesting that 48% of Guyanese live near the poverty line) is used to imply that a vast number of low-income families will remain excluded. But the author’s interpretation fails to recognize the tiered affordability model guiding the Ministry’s housing policy. The housing programme is designed to accommodate various income groups through graduated interventions, from subsidized low-income homes to affordable financing schemes for moderate earners and public-private partnerships for middle-income buyers, including young professionals. For example, turnkey homes in Cummings Lodge and Pros-pect are priced far below private sector averages, offering low-income families, who previously could not access mortgage financing, a path to homeownership. Does the author know that a low-income family in Guyana can access a two-bedroom home for as little as $100,000, on a parcel of land which cost the government roughly $5 million to develop? Simultaneously, the Ministry’s Home Improvement Subsidy Programme targets families already in possession of homes but needing repairs or extensions. This programme broadens the definition of housing provision to include upgrading and regularization, which are critically important in addressing poverty-linked housing deficits. Secondly, the assertion that the Government’s housing programme remains concentrated in Regions 3 and 4 completely ignores the Hinterland Housing Programme which was relaunch-ed upon the PPP/C’s return to government in 2020. Since then, vulnerable and low-income families have benefitted from the allocation of lands and the construction of homes in Regions 1, 7, 8, and 9, representing a major policy shift toward spatial inclusion. Furthermore, the creation of Silica City on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway is another demonstration of forward-looking spatial planning that considers coastal vulnerability while setting a pre-cedent for climate resilient urban expansion. This particular initiative, which is part of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030), moves beyond traditional housing delivery to promote planned urbanization underpinned by sustainable development. Apart from Silica City and housing developments in hinterland communities, complementary infrastructural developments reinforce this spatial rebalancing. The Linden–Mabura Hill Road upgrade, planned Kurupukari River bridge, and Lethem airstrip expansion are not isolated projects, but are enablers of hinterland development. By linking housing expansion with improved transport connectivity, the government is addressing the very geographic inequities the editorial identifies, but with a coherent, long-term framework. Editor, the critique of the 10-year ownership clause as a barrier to residential mobility overlooks its protective purpose. The clause prevents speculative resales that can destabilize housing markets and undermine social equity which are issues that have plagued similar programmes across the Caribbean and Latin America. This clause ensures that subsidies and allocations reach genuine end-users, not profit-driven intermediaries who have grown sizably over the past five years. Importantly, the Ministry has already indicated that tenure regulations are under review to allow for limited flexibility, such as intra-family transfers and refinancing, without compromising the principle of social protection. This balance aligns with the World Bank’s Housing Sector Framework (2021), which emphasizes regulatory safeguards during early market development stages. The editorial’s call for “inclusiveness by design” may be well-intentioned, but in practice, this is already being implemented. The Central Housing and Planning Authority’s (CH&PA’s) spatial planning system supports integrated settlement design, ensuring proximity to schools, health facilities, and commercial spaces. Areas like Providence, Great Diamond and Cummings Lodge are prime examples of how housing developments were constructed alongside roads, educational institutions, and health centres to ensure holistic community planning rather than isolated construction. I concede that environmental sustainability has not received the level of attention it deserves in the housing sector. But I am quite certain this will come into sharp focus with the addition of the new Minister who has a background in forestry and environmental conservation. Notwithstanding, many hinterland housing projects presently incorporate solar energy systems and rainwater harvesting, while the anticipated gas-to-energy project will drastically reduce electricity costs nationwide, improving long-term housing affordability. These developments demonstrate alignment between the housing programme and Guyana’s LCDS 2030 objectives, bridging the social and environmental dimensions of inclusive growth. Editor, equity in housing cannot be achieved through construction targets alone. It requires the synchronization of land, finance, infrastructure, and social policy. The PPP/C government’s approach, while still evolving, reflects an understanding of this complexity. The government’s simultaneous investment in community roads, water distribution networks, and drainage infrastructure ensures that new housing schemes are not only habitable but also resilient. The government’s incremental approach, combining large-scale projects like Silica City with localized, low-cost housing in hinterland and peri-urban regions, illustrates a deliberate balancing act between rapid growth and equitable distribution. This integrated model is far more responsive to Guyana’s unique geography and economic trajectory than the one-dimensional critique presented in the editorial. I end by stating that the government’s housing policy is far from exclusionary as the SN editorial attempted to portray. It is a comprehensive, data-informed, and socially responsive framework that merges affordability, spatial inclusion, and sustainability. While challenges remain, the evidence points to a system that is progressively redressing, rather than reinforcing, inequality in Guyana’s housing sector. Yours faithfully, Ravin Singh
