Approximately 20,000 temporary jobs will be created when the second round of the Low Income Settlement programme gets on stream.The venture, which represents sustained collaboration between the Government of Guyana and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), was launched yesterday at the Regency Suites/Hotel, Hadfield Street, Georgetown.The programme is being funded by the bank to the tune of US$27.9M which has already been handed over to the government and will help to improve the quality of life of low-income families.According to Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, the project which is very timely will contribute to the poverty alleviation efforts of the government. He said that with the guidance of the first low income programme, a project was designed that fits neatly into the national development agenda and poverty reduction strategy.“What we have is great ownership. We have a project that goes beyond housing along the coastal region. We have a project that is looking at establishing housing communities in the hinterland regions. This brings with it fundamental changes, changes in lifestyle, social behaviour,Cheap Jerseys Online, economic opportunities and livelihood options.”The Minister said that the projects will bring tangible as well as intangible benefits to communities. He noted that the conceptualisation of the programme was outstanding and reflects strategically where the housing policies and housing agenda would want to be by 2013.But according to Ali, the programme will go even further, since it also entails a review of the strategic vision and the rebuilding of a new strategy for the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).“I think this is an exceptional component in the design of this programme. At the government level we could develop as many low income lots as we want to,Cheap Stitched MLB Jerseys, but there are other critical elements in the development of low income lots,Cheap Hockey Jerseys, and that is the enabling environment.”And according to Ali, the government must be commended for creating such an environment to ensure that people have access to resources that would help them to move from land ownership to home ownership.He said that more than 20,000 temporary jobs will be created. This is a bonus feature of the programme. Additional jobs, he said,NFL Jerseys China, will be created as a result of infrastructure development.Reflecting on the genesis of the venture, IDB Resident Representative, Marco Nicola, said that the IDB started collaborating with the Government in 2000, with the first Low Income Settlement Programme which was completed almost two years ago.He said that the key goal of the joint effort has been to make shelter and service land more affordable for the purpose of housing. He noted that the first programme provided basic packages of services to address the shortage of low income houses.According to him, the previous programme has been successful in accompanying the process that Guyana initiated in 1992, that benefited about 19,000 low income households over its seven years of execution.But having supported the execution of the first programme, Nicola disclosed that some key challenges still remain even as the new programme unfolds.“The level of occupancy is still somehow limited, since only between 50 and 55 of the allocated lots are currently occupied. This is mainly due to the fact that infrastructural works are still to be completed in some of the sites.”“The government of Guyana has raised concerns about housing affordability, especially the cost of sanitary facilities for low income households and the lack of access to housing opportunities.” Having learnt lessons from the previous programme, Nicola said that the new programme has a strategic vision that will address issues of affordability and accessibility to housing of low income population.The loan document for the new programme was signed by the government and the IDB on April 17 last, and since all of the special and general conditions prior to the first disbursement have since been fulfilled, the current loan is ready for disbursement, said Ms Myrna Pitt of the CH&PA.The unique feature of the new programme, she said,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, is that it is being executed by the staff of the CH&PA, as there is no Project Executing Unit.The staffers will benefit from training during the life of the programme,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, as will persons who have been recruited specially for the programme.The programme activities are expected to be executed during the period 2009-2013 and will benefit approximately 10,<a href="http://www.wholesalesportsjerseys.us