Plans revealed for new housing scheme near Lethem

A new housing development could be built on the edge of Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Lethem Mayor Carlton Beckles recently revealed that the municipality planned to develop a 2000-haouse lot housing development on a site which is about six miles away from Lethem.

The project, which is being pursued by the Lethem municipality, was pitched to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Beckles said.

“Now that I sit on the Central Housing and Planning Authority Board, I started a process of advocating for the Government’s housing drive to Lethem,” the Mayor was quoted as saying by the Government Information Agency (GINA).

He explained that he pitched the idea to the Board, and was challenged to meet with the stakeholders in the community, to put forward the proposal and address such issues as land for the housing development.

This meeting occurred late last week, Beckles said. “I met with the various stakeholders, mainly the representatives from the Guyana Lands and Surveys, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), the Lethem Power Company, and the Guyana Power and Light and we went through the process of identifying lands for this housing drive,” he said.

He explained further that the stakeholders were able to identify an area, at Pork Bridge, just outside Lethem, “where we could have 400 acres of land that can be transformed into 2000 house lots,” he said.

The meeting also allowed for consensus with regard to the category and the size of lots that would be developed and offered to residents. The residents agreed that the house lots would be developed in three categories: low, middle and high income at 50 x 100 feet, 60 x 120 feet and 80 x 150 feet, respectively, Beckles said.

“Definitely, the land is there and we are going out there to the site, sometime in the course of this week, and have a firsthand look, and then I would take our suggestions and agreements, back to the Board, for them to start the process with the Guyana Lands and Surveys (Commission) in having the land, (the site) being handed over for the development of the scheme,” the Mayor said.

Located on Guyana’s southern border, Lethem is home to a number of settlements, including Tabatinga Housing Scheme. This scheme is located on the outskirts of Lethem near the Takutu Bridge that links Guyana to Brazil. It was established and further developed by the CH&PA between 2000 and 2003. GINA said this followed efforts such as site investigations into Tabatinga and the implementation of appropriate development interventions to address existing realities within the scheme.