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20 Broad St. families relocated
Twenty families who were squatting on a property at Broad and Lombard Streets have been relocated by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) to the New Housing Scheme at Prospect, East Bank Demerara (EDB).
Minister Annette Ferguson hands over the key to one of the new residents
Some of the new houses that were constructed
As part of its relocation and resettlement programme, CH&PA in a small but unique ceremony officially handed over the keys for 20 new houses to these families, on Tuesday last.
Junior minister of the Ministries of Communities, Annette Ferguson said that the relocation programme is an initiative to combat “illegal squatting”.
She added that as soon as the residents would have moved to their new homes, City Hall will move to demolish their former “shacks” located at lot 17 and 18 Broad Streets.
According to Chief Executive Officer of CH&PA Lelon Saul, the construction of these 20 houses is a joint effort between CH&PA and Food for the Poor Inc, and cost some $36million.
However, this is only phase one of the project, and another 31 houses will be built sometime soon at Cummingslodge, East Coast Demerara.
One of the residents opens the door of her new home
Another proud home owner stands at the entrance to her premises
The Residents of Broad Streets has been living on the two lots for approximately 30 years.
But in 2017 the owner of the property filed a lawsuit and won, necessitating that the residents vacate the property immediately. Noting that the families had limited resources to obtain a home of their own, CH&PA intervened and promised the residents that they would be assisted and relocated.
Minister responsible for rural affairs within the Ministry of Agriculture Valerie Yearwood told the audience at the ceremony that they had encountered difficulties in locating a suitable place.
This was a major setback to the project, but on the 24th of June 2019, Prospect was identified and the sod was first turned on July 4th of the same year.
Construction was underway by September to complete the first phase of relocating the first 20 families.
Out of the families that benefited, six had lost their “shacks” to a fire back in March of last year, and the remainder was chosen because they had children of school age.
As part of the relocation process, the Ministry of Education has already approved the transfer of these children to schools that are close by to their new community.
The new home owners will also receive free school uniforms from the ministry of Social Protection along with solar panels, two beds, a plastic table and chairs donated by Food for the Poor Inc.
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