$3B housing initiative announced for Amerindian communities

The Government of Guyana will invest $3 billion this year to assist Amerindian families in building new homes and carrying out repairs to existing ones in villages across hinterland communities.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during an interactive session with Indigenous leaders at the National Toshaos Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Dr Jagdeo said the programme will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and village councils, with oversight committees established to ensure the initiative is managed transparently and fairly.

He explained that the government wants to avoid complaints of favouritism or exclusion by putting a clear accountability mechanism in place before the programme begins.

According to the Vice President, the allocation of funds among villages will be based on factors such as population size, with further consultations to determine the implementation framework.