Government to Deliver More Social Housing Units in the 2024/2025 Financial Year
“We are targeting to do more in 2024. We are targeting to do at minimum 500 New Social Housing Programme units in the 2024 financial year”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness on January 8 officially announced that the government will increase the budget for the New Social Housing Programme to complete 500 units for the poor and indigent in the population.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the handing over of the first New Social Housing Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the year in St. James.
“We plan to increase the budget for the New Social Housing Programme and the Indigent Housing Programme this year so that we can get to more Jamaicans. We’re targeting to do more in 2024, we’re targeting to do at minimum 500 New Social Housing Programme in 2024/2025 financial year,” said Prime Minister Holness.
In this regard, the Prime Minister underscored that more advanced building modalities will be used to meet this target.
“The Construction methodology used is quite expensive and we have to find newer methodologies, better technology and more cost-effective technology to provide housing solutions like these. So, we have already started that process. We have identified new building methodologies which we will be implementing in the near future to put up structures like these,” said Prime Minister Holness.
The Prime Minister noted that there will be options for pre-designed and pre-constructed housing solutions that can be lifted and placed on site which would lessen the overall labour cost and time needed for completion.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister stated that the government maintains a rigorous process to ensure that the beneficiaries of the New Social Housing Programme have a home that can break intergenerational poverty, as the state continues to intervene and positively impact the lives of poor Jamaicans across the country.
The beneficiary, 63-year-old Norma Cooper of Lima, Adelphi in St. James, received a one-bedroom house. She resided in an unstable, board structure that could not withstand strong storm winds, leaked profusely when it rained and had no bathrooms or kitchen facilities.
Ms Cooper like many other beneficiaries of the New Social Housing Programme was overjoyed on being handed the keys to her new house. Moved to joyous tears Ms. Cooper expressed gratitude to the government for a new well-built structure to call home.