Two More Families Get NSHP Units

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on Friday (May 20) handed over two housing units, built under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), to families of the Latium and Lottery districts in St. James.

The two-bedroom units were handed over to Beverley Thompson of Latium, and husband and wife Jermaine and Jasseth Clarke of Lottery. Both families now have much improved housing conditions under the initiative.

The units were constructed for approximately $10.8 million.

In his address, Mr. Holness congratulated the beneficiaries on their new homes, noting that the units are sure to improve their quality of life.

“I hope you will use it [the houses] to break the cycle of poverty that your family would have been experiencing,” Mr. Holness said.

“You have gotten them without cost, but it cost everybody in Jamaica. So, you now have a duty. You are going to pay it back in ensuring that your household produces a Jamaican that is law-abiding and contributes to the development of the country,” he added.

The New Social Housing Programme was established in 2018 by the Prime Minister as a component of the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme. It was developed to improve the housing condition of the country’s poor and disadvantaged population by providing quality, affordable and sustainable housing.

The Prime Minister stated that each year, Members of Parliament are permitted to submit five names for the programme, which translates to approximately 315 housing units per annum. However, he noted that the plan is to increase this capacity over time as “we are trying to do a 1000 per year.”

Minister of Tourism Hon Edmund Bartlett, in whose constituency the housing units were constructed, said the programme has been instrumental in steadily addressing the housing deficit of the needy.

“Prime Minister, your job will be to build this wonderful country called Jamaica, and housing is a big part of it. Human habitation and settlement are at the heart of satisfaction and relationship,” said Mr. Bartlett.

Ms. Thompson expressed gratitude for her new home that she is to share with her daughter and grandchild. She said it feels like a “dream come true” knowing that she was given this opportunity to own a modern home under the programme and it is the “best gift that the Prime Minister and Mr. Bartlett could have given me.”

The Clarkes shared similar sentiments while noting that now they have a proper home to raise their son.

“I am ecstatic, I feel happy to know that finally this come through and I must say thanks,” Mrs. Clarke stated.