NEWS YOU CAN USE: The Indigent Housing Programme

Posted on January 26, 2023January 26, 2023

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development reintroduced the Indigent Housing Programme in 2017 under its Municipal Social Assistance Programme (MSAP).

The Ministry appreciates that housing is a fundamental need and should be provided as a right to every individual.

The demand for this initiative outweighs the supply. Subsidized housing, whether in the form of fully furnished units or helping with renovations, continues to be one of the main requests made of the Poor Relief Departments at the Municipal Corporations (formerly Parish Councils).

Poor Relief currently caters to over 14,000 Registered Poor Clients. Data gleaned from field visits indicate that many of these individuals’ housing conditions are deplorable and sometimes structurally unsafe.

Through the Indigent Housing Programme which was designed to address the housing difficulties faced by the poor and most vulnerable, the Ministry has completed 59 units islandwide, with work ongoing on 19 units.

Applicants for the Indigent Housing Programme are screened through the Poor Relief Departments, where an investigation and verification procedure are carried out to establish need. Applicants must also demonstrate ownership of the property on which the house is to be built or provide documentation that they are lawfully entitled to tenure on such property.

The Ministry has developed three (3) types of solutions:

1. A studio unit
2. One bedroom unit
3. Two (2) bedroom family unit

The houses are made of concrete for longevity and sloped roofs that enable rainwater harvesting. Basic furnishing is also included.

 

For further information contact:

The Board of Supervision

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development

61 Hagley Park Road, Kingston 10

Telephone: 876-618-7360-9

Email:  [email protected]

Two more indigent houses handed over in St. Mary

Posted on January 23, 2023

Two additional indigent housing solutions with a cost tag of J$9.5 million were handed over in St. Mary on Friday (January 20).

The beneficiaries are 64-year-old Shirley Nugent of Hamilton Mountain near Oracabessa and George Simms, an 83-year-old resident of Heywood Hall, Port Maria. Miss Nugent and Mr. Simms received their keys to a $4.5m studio unit and a one-bedroom unit valued at $5m, respectively, under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s Indigent Housing Programme.

“It is the intention of this administration to ensure that those persons who are in need of proper housing (have the opportunity to access this),” said Portfolio Minister Desmond McKenzie.

He also noted that the Government is committed to improving the housing stock across the country; and that as part of this mandate, more housing solutions are to be rolled out to meet the demand for housing.

“We in the (Ministry of) Local Government are playing our part in contributing to the housing stock of the country as announced by the Most Honourable Prime Minister.”

Minister McKenzie disclosed that $27.5m has been invested in social housing for the parish of St. Mary.

The self-contained St. Mary housing units were constructed using concrete, block, and steel, with full bathroom suite, counter tops and cupboards for the kitchen, and a living/sleeping area. The units were also equipped with water tanks.

Mayor of Port Maria, Councillor Richard Creary, says four indigent housing units have been approved under the Indigent Housing Programme for the parish. To date, three have been completed and handed over while the fourth house in under construction.

“We really applaud this programme…we were dependent on Food for the Poor, who over the years, have assisted us greatly in this regard in providing housing for our citizens. But this programme has taken new light where we see quality houses made of block and steel… and the finishing are very well done. I would like to commend Minister McKenzie for taking this programme to another level,” he said.

The Indigent Housing Programme is designed to specifically address the challenges of substandard housing under the Ministry’s Municipal Social Assistance Programme (MSAP).

Applicants for the programme are screened through the Poor Relief Department in each municipality.

Port Maria family gets new home -Solution built under the Ministry of Local Government’s Indigent Housing Programme

Posted on January 18, 2023

PORT MARIA, St. Mary: A family from Crane Park in Port maria is the latest beneficiary of a J$9 million indigent housing solution from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

The family’s matriarch Norma ‘Peaches’ Folkes accepted the keys to her new two-bedroom concrete dwelling from Prime Minister Andrew Holness during a ceremony at Crane Park in Port Maria on January 13.

“Your house is quite dignified,” the Prime Minister Holness said of the quality design and features.

“I hold the view and continue to hold that not because someone is poor that they should get poor housing. I believe that shelter, along with education, are the critical elements of poverty response.”

Miss Folkes and her family’s living situation was compromised by severe flooding in 2021. Built to prevent flooding, the new house is made of reinforced concrete with a tropical design and sloped roof for water harvesting. It was outfitted with beds, dressers, a stove, dining table and chairs, and washtub.

Portfolio Minister, Honourable Desmond McKenzie recalled that he learnt of Ms. Folkes’ plight during a visit to St. Mary following the 2021 flood rains that severely impacted the parish.

“The house that Peaches and her family occupied was totally flooded out and the cry was that Peaches needs help,” the Minister shared.

He said he gave instructions for the Municipal Corporation and the Ministry’s Technical Director to move with swiftness to assist the family.

The Indigent Housing Programme is designed to specifically address the challenges of substandard housing by providing more effective ways to respond to the needs of citizens for decent shelter. Applicants for the programme are screened through the Poor Relief Department in each municipality.

Additionally, the applicant must provide proof of ownership of the land on which the shelter solution is to be constructed or of being legally entitled to build on such land.

The Prime Minister also emphasized that the Government is taking steps to ensure that those in dire need are provided with houses.

“There are two programmes of the Government to treat with issues of social housing. One programme is the New Social Housing Programme, [under] which you see me, almost every week, presenting to beneficiaries new housing solutions constructed for them,” he explained.

“…Then there is the Indigent Housing Programme, which is part of the responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government to assist persons who have been established as poor and who have had some form of disaster, or impacted by some event, in their life – such as, for example, a flooding or a fire, or a landslide, or the collapse of their house – and they are not in a position to recover or respond positively to those kinds of disaster events,” he added.

Holness said that the Local Government Ministry is aiming to assist some 100 cases annually.

Port Maria, St. Mary gets new multi-million fire station

Posted on January 16, 2023

PORT MARIA, St. Mary: Prime Minster Andrew Holness officially opened the new J$258 million Port Maria Fire Station during a special ceremony in St. Mary on January 13.

 

“We are expecting that with this new facility, the morale of our firefighters will be improved, their capabilities to respond will improve, the relationship between firefighting services and the community will improve, and the entire township/parish capital will feel a renewed sense that Jamaica is paying attention to their needs,” said the Prime Minister in the keynote address.

He maintained that the construction of the new fire station is part of the Government’s strategy of building resilience.

The facility was built under the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP) aimed at bolstering Jamaica’s resilience against disaster and climate risks and improving the country’s capacity to plan for, reduce and mange the effects of climate change. The DVRP is funded by a loan from the World Bank.

According to Honourable Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, the historic levels of investment in fire equipment, fire trucks, fire stations and the recruitment of new members into the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) reflects the Government’s determination to increase the effectiveness of local government through modern fire prevention and fire response services.

“The construction and handing over of the Port Maria Fire Station is a testament to the vital importance of foresight, strategic clarity, determination, and partnership. However, it is much more than that. It is not just a brand-new fire station that will serve the people of Port Maria and its environs,” he underscored.

“It is also the latest component of an unprecedented infrastructure of social protection and national asset management, that the Government is building through the services of the Jamaica Fire Brigade.”

The building that housed the former Port Maria Fire Station was closed in 2006. The JFB operated in rented premises at various locations in the Port Maria area following the closure.

The firefighters moved into the new facility last November.

The Port Maria Fire Station, which was completed over three years, was implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Since 2016, approximately J$7 billion has been spent on strengthening the Brigade’s operational capacity.

The J$580m JFB Area 4 Headquarters at Barnett Street in Montego Bay, St James, and the J$162.6m Yallahs Fire Station in St Thomas were also built under the DVRP and handed over last year.

January 8-14 Is Earthquake Awareness Week

Posted on January 10, 2023

KINGSTON, Jan. 6 (JIS):

                The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is spearheading a series of activities for Earthquake Awareness Week 2023 from January 8-14.

Under the theme: ‘Drop, Cover, Hold…Earthquake Readiness Is Within Your Control,’ the observance will see the ODPEM heightening its public education campaign to increase awareness about the ever-present natural threat.

The ODPEM will launch the week with a live outside broadcast (OB) from its Haining Road offices on Monday (Jan. 9),  where representatives will outline the various activities for the week.

These include an earthquake awareness exhibition to be held at parish libraries across the island on January 11 to promote earthquake safety and knowledge among students of all ages.

Earthquake awareness day for businesses will take place on January 12 and these entities are being encouraged to conduct drills.

On January 13, the ODPEM, in collaboration with the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation, will engage citizens in another live OB to encourage persons to participate in an all-island drill scheduled for that day.

A fact sheet issued by the ODPEM, says that Jamaica’s geographic location, along the northern margin of the Caribbean Plate and the presence of an active fault line, makes the country vulnerable to earthquakes.

With the constant threat of seismic activity, citizens are being urged to take the necessary precautions and arm themselves with knowledge and information about earthquakes.

Persons can contact the ODPEM via telephone at (876) 906-9674-5 or send an email to [email protected].