Number of Indigent Housing Solutions Could Double In 2022/2023
By: , October 21, 2021
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie (second left), and beneficiary of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s Municipal Social Assistance Programme (MSAP), Tashana Mallett (third left), break ground for her housing solution at Ashley Road, St. Andrew, South West, on October 20. Also participating in the exercise (from left) are Member of Parliament, St. Andrew South West, Dr. Angela Brown Burke and Councillor, Whitfield Town Division, Eugene Kelly.
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie (right), converses with Member of Parliament, St. Andrew, South West, Dr. Angela Brown Burke, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of an indigent housing solution on Ashley Road, St. Andrew, South West, on October 20. The initiative forms part of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s Municipal Social Assistance Programme (MSAP), and will be done in partnership with the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC).The Full Story
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the Government is seeking to double the number of indigent housing solutions during the 2022/23 Financial Year.
Addressing a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a housing solution on Ashley Road, St. Andrew South West, on October 20, the Minister said efforts are also being made to deliver and exceed the original target of 100 units for the 2021/22 Financial Year.
“We are moving speedily towards that. Hopefully, we will surpass the 100 by the end of the financial year and we are going to be making provisions in the budget for funding to take us into the new financial year that will see us doubling the 100. We are looking to do over 200 in the 2022/23 Financial Year,” he noted.
The initiative forms part of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s Municipal Social Assistance Programme (MSAP) and will be done in partnership with the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC).
Mr. McKenzie said the unit will be constructed at a cost of approximately $2.9 million and is expected to be completed and handed over to the beneficiaries – a family of four – by the end of the year.
“I am hoping that [work] will commence shortly because procurement has to be done by the KSAMC and we are hoping that by Christmas [they] will have a new home,” he added.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament, St. Andrew South West, Dr. Angela Brown Burke, said in the first instance, four units will be allocated for the constituency under the project.
“I am pleased to be able to break ground today with the Minister and the KSAMC for this one,” she said.
Recipient, Tashana Mallett, expressed appreciation for the unit, which will be a home for herself, her father and her two sons.
“I feel overwhelmed… . It will improve my life a lot… and it will be a joy to have my own [home],” she said.