Region Four drives 78,000-house-lot backlog

Guyana’s housing programme is facing a backlog of more than 78,000 applicants awaiting the allocation of house lots, with over two-thirds concentrated in Region Four, where demand is driven by the need to be close of economic and job opportunities near the capital, Georgetown.

In the last five-year government, more than 53,000 house lots were distributed.

Minister of Housing Collin Croal, in a statement on his Facebook page, said Region Four remains the most challenging, accounting for over 52,000 of the pending applications. Minister Croal pledged to clear the backlog in all other regions while working to significantly reduce the numbers in Region Four.

To address the backlog, the government is working with key state agencies and partners to identify and release suitable lands. These include collaborations with the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), the Guyana Sugar Corporation, and, in the case of Region Five, the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA).

The strategy, Croal said is to achieve a 100% clearance of pending applicants in all regions except Region Four, where it will steadily work to cut down the huge demand.

The government has said clearing the backlog remains a priority as part of its broader housing and development agenda.