Government speeds up Hurricane Melissa housing fund rollout

The Government says it is moving faster to use donations collected after Hurricane Melissa to help Jamaicans whose homes were destroyed, following an Auditor General’s finding that less than two per cent of the money had been spent.

The update comes as the parliamentary opposition continues to press the Holness administration to provide more help for hurricane victims still waiting on assistance. Senator Aubyn Hill, a state minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, said the delivery of modular homes has begun and that grants will also be provided to help prepare the bases on which the units will sit.

Hill said Prime Minister Andrew Holness had pledged in December last year that the donated funds would go toward housing for the people worst affected by Hurricane Melissa. He said selecting suitable units, completing procurement and arranging shipment to Jamaica took time, but the construction stage is now under way.

In Montego Bay, St. James, some people still in shelters may have to wait longer before moving into modular homes under the Government’s ROOFS programme. St. James Municipal Corporation chairman Richard Vernon said beneficiaries must show secure tenure before the process can advance.

According to Vernon, a property tax receipt alone will not be accepted as proof. Applicants may instead need documents such as a certificate of title, will, deed of gift, permission letter signed by a justice of the peace, lease agreement with the landowner’s permission, sale agreement, probate, or statutory declarations from recognised persons including a member of parliament, justice of the peace, medical doctor, superintendent of police or minister of religion.

Housing Agency of Jamaica chairman Norman Brown also called for the country to rebuild with stronger and more affordable housing. Speaking recently at a recovery and rebuilding expo in Montego Bay, Brown said more Jamaicans are moving away from zinc roofing and turning to concrete slab roofs, increasing demand for cement.

Brown said the HAJ has been instructed to build units capable of withstanding a Category 5 hurricane and to avoid construction too close to the shoreline. He also said one-bedroom starter homes are being quoted at $14 million to $15 million, while a more affordable target would be about $8 million to $9 million on a 3,000-square-foot lot.

He added that shoreline protection is also critical, noting that work involving the Urban Development Corporation would require billions of dollars, including along the stretch from One Man Beach upward.