PM Hands Over 77 Housing Solutions in Trelawny

A total of 77 housing solutions were handed over by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, at the Windsor Hills housing development in Trelawny on Wednesday (September 27).

The National Housing Trust (NHT) solutions, which form phase one of the project, comprise 42 serviced lots and 35 one-bedroom units.

Nine of the housing solutions went to public-sector workers and persons with disabilities, while 52 were handed over to eligible NHT contributors who applied and were selected to benefit.

Sixteen privately owned service lots were incorporated in the development, through agreement with the owners, who made the lands available in exchange for benefiting from infrastructure in the housing project.

Phase Two of the project, which will be handed over later, will consist of 118 serviced lots.

In his address during the ceremony, Mr. Holness outlined that of the 52 beneficiaries selected, some 71 per cent are women, and most of the property owners earned between minimum wage and $30,000 weekly.

“[This] speaks to the Government’s instrumental action in ensuring that we are looking out for our women and we are looking out for persons who are low to middle income,” he noted.

The Prime Minister added that 82 per cent of the beneficiaries are aged between 41 and 60; some 42 per cent work in accounting, administration or other clerical areas, while 19 per cent are engaged in housekeeping and other service sector jobs.

Mr. Holness commended the board and management of the NHT for “keeping at it”, even while plans were derailed by COVID-19 and other challenges.

“So, we had to be recalibrating and trying to reconfigure the programme,” he noted.

“But I am not letting the NHT off of its commitment to do 43,000 of the 70,000 houses that we have committed to, and so the phase that we are in is obviously the planning phase. In another three years, the number of housing starts are going to jump significantly as these plans start to come to fruition,” Mr. Holness said.

He encouraged the agency to work with greater efficiency and alacrity to ensure that “those people who continue to believe that their dream will become a reality, that one day, they too will become homeowners”.

Mr. Holness congratulated the Windsor Hills beneficiaries, imploring them to take care of their new homes and develop a beautiful community in the process.