BY MICHAEL YOUNGE
The Ministry of Communities today announced that it was changing the manner in which it allotted house lots to Guyanese after its findings revealed that thousands of house lots allocated since 2000 remain unoccupied in several schemes across the country.
Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan said the trend was worrying and alarming to say the least as he explained that billions of dollars were expended to prepare the schemes for occupancy but progress has been slow over the last decade.
Minister Bulkan reported that during 2011 and 2015, some 38 new schemes were developed boasting a total of 20,000 house lots but to date 80% of those lots remain unoccupied.
He charged that the Ministry after conducting the necessary evaluation would now scale back on the number of lots allocated and would shift its focus to the provision and construction of housing units.
He argued this will allow for immediate occupancy.
Minister Bulkan also told the media that From a total of 4927 interviews conducted in 2017, the CH&PA only issued 1131 house lots with Region #4 accounting for the majority of 3122 interviews and 513 allocations.
The media also learnt that between 2000 and 2015 from an approximate total of 66,000 house lots allocated, some 28,000 or 40% remain unoccupied.
