Two Indigent Houses handed over in Manchester
KENDAL, Manchester: Two indigent houses have been handed over in the communities of Coley Mountain and Kendal each by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.
The units- a studio and a two-bedroom family unit, were constructed at a cost of approximately J$16.5 million under the Ministry’s Indigent Housing Programme.
During the handover ceremony on December 1 at Kendal, Portfolio Minister, Honourable Desmond McKenzie, emphasized that the Government has been consistent in its response to the housing needs of Jamaicans.
“It is worth repeating that since 2016, this Administration has built more houses than any other for (persons at) every level of society,” he said.
He cited the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme, the Indigent Housing Programme, the National Housing Trust (NHT), and the Housing Agency of Jamaica Limited (HAJ), as well as partnerships forged with private sector stakeholders, among the entities and arrangements contributing to the housing stock.
Minister McKenzie also urged one of the recipients of Friday’s presentations, Kendal resident, Nadine Lawrence, to take care of the new house.
Ms. Lawrence, whose board house was destroyed by fire in 2020, said she was grateful for her new two-bedroom home.
“I could not do it. My children could not do it; we are poor. Other people in the community were there with me during my time of loss of my board dwelling. [The] Government has provided me with a concrete house now and I thank you so much. I am thankful that I have a key and can sleep (peacefully).”
Mr. Rodney Dwyer was the beneficiary of a studio unit in Coley Mountain.
The Indigent Housing Programme is spearheaded by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development through the Poor Relief Department at each Municipal Corporation and provides housing solutions to persons registered as poor. This initiative began in 2016 and falls under the Ministry’s Municipal Social Assistance Programme (MSAP).
MSAP was created to offer a viable solution to the housing crises evidenced among the vulnerable population. Requests for full units or assistance with repairs continue to be one of the main applications made of the Poor Relief Departments.
The Indigent Housing Programme reflects the policy of the Ministry to promote modernity and to elevate the standards of housing for the poor, by building only concrete houses with basic amenities.
