17-member CH&PA board sent packing

GOVERNMENT has dissolved the 17-member Board of Directors of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
The revocations of appointments were done pursuant to the powers vested in the Minister of Housing, Colin Croal, in accordance with Section 4 (2) of Cap 36:20 and Sections 4 (5) of Cap 36:20 of the Housing Act. The dissolution of the board, which was appointed in 2017, took immediate effect, and was gazetted on August 29, 2020.

Persons who were appointed to the 2017 board included Elsworth Williams who was chairman, Junior Garrett, Sheik Mahmood, Mohamed Dawood Khan, Cleveland December, Mark Ambrose, Carlton Beckles, Winifred Heywood, Rookmin Ramcharran, Sonia Gumbs-Luke, Dr. Mallika Mootoo, Glenyss James, Heather Martins, Thandi McAllister, Michael Huston, Naresh Mangar, Waneka Arrindell and Egbert Carter.
Most persons, who appeared as directors on the board, had close ties to and were even known members of the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (AFC) coalition.

A reliable source informed this publication that new members are yet to be appointed but it will be done soon.
Only on Tuesday, the Ministry of Housing and Water said former Republic Bank Guyana Manager, Sherwyn Greaves, is the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

Greaves will be replacing Lelon Saul, whose contract with the agency was terminated on August 25. According to a statement from the ministry, Greaves’ banking career spanned over 27 years, during the course of which he has held key managerial positions throughout the country.
“The newly-appointed CEO brings with him a wealth of knowledge in the areas of effective leadership and communication, as he holds a Master in Business Administration from the Australia Institute of Business; a diploma in banking from the Associate Institute of Canadian Bankers, as well as a certificate in People and Team Management from the Canadian Securities Institute,” the ministry said.

Greaves come at a time when several key housing and water services, which were put on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak, are now back up and running.
Among those services which were affected, due to the many restrictions that had to be implemented in a bid to stop the deadly novel coronavirus in its tracks were: land allocation; updates of names to applications; processing of agreement of sale and title; interviews for new applications; and all outdoor activities.
“I am pleased to announce that under strict COVID-19 safety measure guidelines, some of our services under CH&PA have resumed,” Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues said, adding: “These services include ranger’s patrol, residential house lot payment; surveying of lots with one person allowed on that visit; and visits for planning permission.”

In an effort to ensure that all Guyanese have access to water, which is a much-needed commodity in the fight against COVID-19, all water-related services have been resumed. She also used the opportunity to reassure consumers that the ministry has no intention of going back on its promise to not carry out disconnections until further notice.