Hon. Susan Rodrigues Minister within The Ministry of Housing & Water attended the third annual Founder’s Dinner of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry Guyana (WCCIG), at the Pegasus Hotel on Saturday evening.
The Minister, who delivered the keynote address, stated that in just two years of governance, the President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali-led Government has made significant advances in creating gender parity in Guyana.
In the housing sector, over 18,000 house lots were allocated by the end of October 2022. Minister Rodrigues noted that approximately 8,000 (44%) of these allocations were women, who were sole applicants. Meanwhile, allocations to women with joint applications stood at 5,137 (28%). It was further highlighted that the New Building Society (NBS) and Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) have loaned $17.3 billion and $4.4 billion respectively, to women for mortgages and commercial purposes.
“We’ve come from a period in history where women had no rights. We didn’t have the right to vote. We went through the Suffragette Movement so that women could be allowed to vote. Women could not own land, now more and more women are owning land, owning their own homes and owning their own businesses. And that’s because you have a climate here in Guyana created by the Government, the PPP/C Government, that is private sector friendly and that’s because we understand the importance that the private sector plays in any country,” Minister Rodrigues stated.
