PM Urges Private-Sector Partnership on New Social Housing Programme
By: , December 15, 2022
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
New homeowner and beneficiary under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), Sidonie Eldemire (left), welcomes Managing Director of Arc Properties Limited, Ashley-Ann Foster Horne into her newly built two-bedroom home. The house, donated by Arc Properties Limited, was officially handed over to Ms. Eldemire on Wednesday (December 14), at Off Olympic Way in St. Andrew West Central .
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (seated second right), signs the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) contract with beneficiary Sidonie Eldemire during a ceremony for the handover of a two-bedroom house under the programme, which was donated by Arc Properties Limited. Witnessing the signing are Chairman, Arc Properties Limited, Norman Horne (seated left) and Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Audrey Sewell (seated right). Also participating in the handover ceremony are (from left, standing) Ms. Eldemire’s son, Rohan Clarke; Chairperson, Oversight Committee for NSHP, Judith Robb Walters and Chief Executive Officer, Kinetic Engineering Services Limited, Keon Hinds. The handover took place Off Olympic Way in St. Andrew West Central on Wednesday (December 14).The Full Story
Private-sector entities and individuals are being urged to support the Government’s effort to provide sustainable housing for society’s most vulnerable, under the New Social Housing Programme.
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, made the appeal, during the handover of a house donated by Arc Properties Limited to Sidonie Eldemire and her 14-year-old son, Rohan Clarke, off Olympic Way in St. Andrew on Wednesday (December 14).
The two-bedroom unit was built at a cost of approximately $6 million.
Arc Properties Limited is the first company from the private sector to partner with the Government on the NSHP.
Prime Minister Holness assured that the Administration has put all the mechanisms in place to ensure accountability in the execution of the NSHP.
“The only scepticism that you should have is that the project might take a little longer than you expect because of the rigour that we apply to ensure accountability and transparency of these projects,” he pointed out.
Prime Minister Holness encouraged persons who cannot donate an entire house to assist with materials or some financial support. “Anything that you can assist with… the programme is designed to work with you,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Arc Properties Limited, Norman Horne, said the company remains committed to giving back a portion of its annual profits as part of its corporate social responsibility.
“Over the years, God has blessed us in a way that we can earn, and we can give back. Today, we’re here to give back part of the profits that we made in 2021 to 2022,” he noted.
Mr. Horne encouraged other private stakeholders to come on board.
“We don’t want to be a business that just focuses on money, harvesting equity and building capital for shareholders only. We want to be a business that focuses on the social good. The real development of any country is based on investment in the people and investment in infrastructure,” he said.