30 Region Eight families to get new homes through Hinterland Housing Programme

Thirty families in Region Eight will soon become home owners, as the Ministry of Housing and Water-Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) will be spearheading the construction.

Through the Hinterland Housing Programme, elevated timber houses will be built for vulnerable families. Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, made the announcement during a recent outreach in the region.

“We have started a Hinterland Housing Programme that sees us working in various communities. There are three communities that have been identified in Region Eight…for which the Minister of Amerindian Affairs and our Central Housing and Planning Authority will be engaging to do the consultation to have 10 houses each from those villages,” Minister Croal added.

Persons living in the community of Itabac have requested for some of these houses to be constructed there. In November 2023, about 10 families who were affected by regular flooding in Kokerite, Region One benefitted from these houses.

As the government continues to build houses to support citizens, village economies are being bolstered since they are the suppliers of the building materials.

The construction of these homes in Region Eight will add to the significant number of investments already made in the region.

In the water sector, Kamana, Itabac, and Sand Hill are also benefitting from new water supply systems totaling $131 million, providing first-time access to treated water.

In three years, over $877 million has been disbursed there, in various grants including carbon credit funds, presidential grants, and economic investment funds.

From these resources, some of the communities made investments in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a boat and engine, a fuel depot, a sewing machine building, a village shop, the construction of a sanitary block, and an information and communication technology (ICT) hub.

All the communities have also received a tractor and trailer to aid agriculture and forestry.