Gov’t Consistently Responding to Citizens’ Housing Needs – Minister Mckenzie
By: , December 3, 2023
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, cuts the ribbon symbolising the formal handover of a two-bedroom house in Kendal, Manchester, to recipient, Nadine Lawrence (centre). The presentation was made on Friday (December 1). Applauding is Manchester Central Member of Parliament, Rhoda Moy Crawford. The unit was facilitated under the Local Government Ministry’s Indigent Housing Programme and is in keeping with the Administration’s thrust to provide homes for more Jamaicans.The Full Story
Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the Administration has been consistent in its response to the housing needs of Jamaicans.
Speaking in Manchester on Friday (December 1), where houses were handed over to indigent beneficiaries in Kendal and Coley Mountain, Mr. McKenzie said the Government takes its responsibility of fulfilling the housing needs of all citizens seriously.
“It is worth repeating that since 2016, this Administration has built more houses than any other for [persons at] every level of [the] society,” he noted.
The Minister 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.
Meanwhile, Mr. McKenzie urged one of the recipients of Friday’s presentations, Kendal resident, Nadine Lawrence, to take care of the new house and adhere to the conditions under which she received it.
Nadine Lawrence (right), into her new two-bedroom home, which was provided under the Ministry’s Indigent Housing Programme. The unit was formally handed over on Friday (December 1). Accompanying Minister McKenzie is Manchester Central Member of Parliament, Rhoda Moy Crawford. The unit’s presentation is in keeping with the Government’s thrust to provide homes for more Jamaicans.
An elated 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],” she stated.
Earlier in the day on Friday, Minister McKenzie handed over a studio unit to another indigent beneficiary in Coley Mountain.
The units, which were facilitated under the Local Government Ministry’s Indigent Housing Programme, and are in keeping with the Government’s thrust to provide homes for more Jamaicans.
