The announcement by President Irfaan Ali on Sunday that 150 homes were to be constructed for vulnerable members of the population across the country, by members of an initiative dubbed Men on Mission which he leads, was deserving of plaudits. However, he did not stop there, he qualified the statement by adding that they have to own the house lot as well as secure a mortgage of at least $5 million.
Perhaps the President has already done his homework – he did function as housing minister not so long ago – and knows that there are 150 or more vulnerable citizens who own house lots. If that is the case, then one of the real sticking points in this scenario will be making the loan repayments, since President Ali has expressed confidence that banks will make the money available under this project.
The declaration was made when the President presented the keys to the first such home at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, completed in two weeks according to a press release from the Office of the President, to 85-year-old Meena Bafan. Photographs showed the beaming, walker-dependent senior navigating her new, one-flat home. The release did not indicate whether Ms Bafan had to obtain a $5 million loan and one hopes she instead won some sort of housing lottery which made her home, as the pilot, free.
Here’s the thing, basic maths shows that sans interest, a person paying $25,000 a month would take 20 years to repay a $5 million loan. While $25,000 might seem low, it is likely higher than what the truly vulnerable – those who are unemployed and are receiving old age pensions or public assistance benefits, which are $28,000 and $14,000 per month respectively – can afford.
Although the banks might have agreed to finance the home-building project, by no stretch of the imagination would they do this interest free. One imagines the current mortgage rates would apply. Hence the thought of an 85-year-old being saddled with a 20-year mortgage or even a 15-year one would be a bitter pill to swallow. Even if seniors happen to be in the minority among the 150 Guyanese who would qualify for this project, consideration needs to be taken of the fact that some might be disabled, have disabled children, or simply extremely vulnerable owing to abject poverty.
Another bone of contention arises with the design of Ms Bafan’s home. Undeniably, it was constructed on built-up land as evidenced by the compacted sand seen in photographs. However, it appears that no cognisance was taken of the very real possibility of future flooding. The house sits directly on the ground. There is no elevation.
Obviously, Ms Bafan needed a walker accessible home and that could still have been provided with elevation, through the addition of a ramp. The inclined plane that joins two levels of a building is the thoughtful response to accommodating the elderly or people with disabilities; not placing them at ground level in a country where flooding is endemic. Ramps are among the wheelchair accessible standards that constitute part of building codes in many progressive countries in the world.
It should be noted here that following the Great Flood of 2005, the non-governmental organisation Habitat for Humanity implemented its own standard of building all homes in Guyana at a height of one metre off the ground. It is worthy of emulation, particularly given this country’s geographical status of being mostly below sea level, thus placing it at risk for flooding during spring tides, and in danger of being completely exposed to sea-level rise stemming from climate change. Unfortunately, an elevation requirement that would afford some protection from flooding only seems to apply thus far to commercial buildings being erected along Guyana’s coastline.
The National Building Codes currently in place were launched in March 2012 by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce following six months of consultations, during which recommendations were made by engineers and representatives from the construction industry. Coincidentally, at that time, President Ali was the acting minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.
However, it was said then and has since been repeated numerous times that the GNBS has neither the legal standing nor necessary resources to monitor the quality of buildings and building materials. As things stand now, only conscientious builders and contractors build according to the code. Several calls have been made for the establishment of a Building Code Authority, including by the GNBS, so that those who are less than honest in their approach to construction could be held accountable without scammed homeowners having to resort to the courts.
All that being said, and given his stature as leader of this country, President Ali would do well to ensure that whatever he associates his name with is executed thoughtfully, carefully and is of the highest quality. It would also augur well for the Men on Mission initiative if, despite the apparent lack of an elevation standard for residential buildings, they made safety and durability their mission with regard to housing the vulnerable.
