Gov’t to increase number of units under NSHP

The Government is looking to increase the number of units built annually under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), from just over 300 to 1,000.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said building contractors are now delivering the houses at a faster pace, compared to that at the start of the programme in 2018.

“We are improving the systems … contractors are moving faster. They are doing two- and three-bedroom houses in four to six weeks. That’s good … that’s saving time, and it can be still faster. People are getting the houses faster, [as] the turnaround is much greater,” Holness said.

He was speaking at the handover of a three-bedroom unit in Ewarton, St Catherine on June 3.

Noting that when dilapidated dwellings are transformed, it ignites hope in communities, the prime minister said, “We need to always bring hope to the people and show that good things can happen in the worse of conditions.”

The NSHP, which was conceptualised by Holness, is geared towards relocating residents in vulnerable communities, and prioritises persons deemed in imminent danger.

It targets the upgrading of tenement yards – one in each constituency – and improving the quality of housing for Jamaica’s neediest citizens.

The programme also includes the provision of indigent housing, with 315 housing units (five per constituency) constructed annually.

Holness added that in improving the NSHP’s efficiency, increasing its budget, and bringing private sector stakeholders on board, the output can be expanded to accommodate more beneficiaries.

“And, if we use other modalities, we can bring more people into a better standard of shelter, and we are working on that,” he indicated.

The NSHP operates under the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment programme, through the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.