The obvious downturn in the construction sector and the suffering endured by the hardware stores in Guyana is as a

Former Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali

result of the negativity and criticisms of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Government, says former Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali. During an exclusive interview with this publication on Friday evening, Ali stated that after the examination of the 2015 National Budget, and listening to the government policy and programmes in the housing sector, he is very concerned about its future. “I am very worried about the future of the National Housing Programme, but much more importantly its implication to the housing market itself. The PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/Civic) Government understood that housing is not merely allocation of land, but that it has severe economic ramifications. Right now we have the hardware stores who are suffering because the demand is not there, because the construction sector is sliding and less people are constructing,” Ali stated. He explained that although this is the existing situation, and it is quite evident in the country, it appears as if the coalition Administration is not interested in “making an aggressive housing programme”. Guyana Times was told that the Government’s idea of distributing 5000 houses/properties in five years is a “good idea”, but is totally inadequate to match the demand for housing in the country. This is also not enough to create the necessary “excitement” in the housing sector to push the economy forward. Ali maintained that the present Administration is manipulating the process and situations surrounding the housing sector and this will lead to nothing but an inevitable downfall. “Look at the East Bank of Demerara housing scheme which was a booming area, a heavily organised area, where persons were building every day. Trucks upon trucks of sand, stone, cement were going there. Check it out today, it has come to a halt because of the negative propaganda coming out of the Government in relation to the future of this expansion,” the former Housing Minister emphasised. This newspaper was told that the land on the East Bank of Demeraram, in the housing scheme, has a certain degree of equity held by the bank and also by the private developers and private investors. According to Ali, as such, the private investors and developers are essential in stimulating growth and economic activity while stimulating the housing sector itself. “When they pump liquidity into the system and the Government matches that liquidity, then the entire construction sector benefits. But look at what they are doing; they cut the 1000 home programme. The delays and the slothfulness in that programme has cost almost 350 jobs already and now they are saying persons had preferential rates on the East Bank,” he explained. Ali told this newspaper that this process, where persons were being accused of receiving preferential rates, is a fact because it is as if one invests in a new area. “Those who go first will have certain benefits. Those going after will have a lesser degree of benefits maybe the cost will be more because the asset value is driven up by those who went there first. And then this also depends on the type of activity there.” Ali posited that the Housing Development Programme in the housing sector was “not by guess”. In fact, he stated that it was designed in a way to stimulate economic growth and stimulate the construction sector. “But the negativity, the slothfulness and the lack of an aggressive housing programme is going to take us backwards. I am warning the policy makers not to play with the equity value. Do not play with the equity value of land or the equity value of the assets in these housing areas because it has implications not only for the developers or the property owner, but also has implications for the banking sector,” Ali added.