Government to Divest JMB Soon

In a few more months, the Government will divest ownership of the Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB), says Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness.

He was addressing the ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Nitrams of Waterloo, located at 44 Upper Waterloo Road in St. Andrew, on March 25.

“The Jamaica Mortgage Bank, in a few more months, will be on the [Jamaica] Stock Exchange. You can buy into it, give it some more resources, so it can fund more projects like these in collaboration with the private sector. You can participate in the wealth that it will create,” Dr. Holness said.

“Very soon you will not be under my portfolio and I will be very pleased to say that as Prime Minister I have overseen, developed and taken to market several entities that were under government, but are now creating wealth for the people of Jamaica. We are not just taking it and handing it to a private-sector person; we are putting it in the mechanisation for the socialisation of wealth, which is the Jamaica Stock Market. So, Jamaicans can get a chance of owning a piece of JMB,” he added.

The Prime Minister pointed out that persons have benefited from other government entities that have been previously divested.

“We have done quite a bit and I think the Jamaicans who have participated in those that we have brought to the public, such as Wigton Windfarm, that has done very well. People who invested in that from the beginning, they are looking at almost a doubling; the Trans Jamaica Highway, that has done extremely well, people who invested in that are looking at almost a doubling and I know that when we bring the Jamaica Mortgage Bank, the same thing will happen. We’re going to be creating wealth for the average Jamaican,” he said.

Meanwhile, he commended the late Philip Martin; his widow, Sandra and their daughters, Anna-Kay, Kathy, and Wendy and the team who worked on the six-storey project. “This project is a blueprint and I encourage more Jamaican developers to follow your lead,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the Government will continue to leverage public-private partnerships to transform the country’s housing landscape.

“The success of this project is the result of a deliberate policy direction, one that recognises the power of partnership in tackling Jamaica’s housing deficit. The Jamaica Mortgage Bank plays a critical role in this national strategy, by financing private developments like Nitram. The Jamaica Mortgage Bank is helping to increase the supply of housing in high-demand urban areas. This model allows us to move faster, build smarter and create more value for our citizens,” he said.

Dr. Holness noted, too, that the Government remains focused on increasing the supply of quality affordable housing for low and middle-income Jamaicans through partnerships between government agencies such as the Jamaica Mortgage Bank, the National Housing Trust, Housing Agency of Jamaica and private developers.

He added that the Government is building out and scaling up the New Social Housing Programme to provide housing solutions for the poorest of the poor, explaining that the Government is ensuring that there is fair and equitable development in the society.

“We are building a Jamaica where decent housing is not a privilege for the few but a right for all through partnership, through policy and through perseverance. Let us choose to build Jamaica,” he said.

The Nitrams of Waterloo consists of 47 one and two-bedroom units.

Prices start at $36.5 million.

Sagicor partnered with the JMB to finance 49 per cent of the development.