Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 14, 2018 (SKNIS): Honourable Lindsay Grant, Parliamentary Representative for Constituency #4, continues to deliver on his promise of providing homes to residents of his constituency.
Sixteen (16) brand new homes were delivered on Tuesday, June 12, to 16 deserving individuals and their families, said Minister Grant, noting that the distribution of these homes is not a political gimmick.
“In this Team Unity Government, we don’t take houses and play political football or games with,” he said. “We don’t build houses at the time of an election; we continuously build houses to improve the state of families in this country. So, we have been committed to build out 300 houses before the next general election rolls around.”
Minister Grant said that he was advised by the Minister of Human Settlement, the Honourable Eugene Hamilton, that the housing programme is almost at the halfway mark.
Despite the belief that the government is not building homes, the delivery of these homes stand as testament to the government’s continuous hard work, said Minister Grant.
“Maybe part of the reason they are saying that is because this is what we call a cluster here this morning,” he said. “Maybe they are not seeing clusters, but I want to tell you this government is doing something very innovative. The innovation is that we are not only doing clusters, but we are building on persons’ individual lands.”
He said that it is the job of the ministers of government, individually and collectively, to raise the standard of living for citizens. “That is our job. We work tirelessly to achieve that,” he said.
It was noted that the National Housing Corporation (NHC) has worked continuously and tirelessly, under challenging circumstances, to deliver houses. The minister added that these persons should now take care of their new homes and pay on time. He placed much emphasis on paying for the houses.
“I will stress pay for it, because when you pay for it somebody else gets an opportunity to get one also,” he said. “So, let us not be selfish. Let us understand that the government is working and that you too have your part to play.”
These 16 homes are the first for Constituency #4 under the Team Unity Housing Solutions Programme. Ground has already been broken in Taoyuan Heights, Challengers, where another 16 homes will be built.
“When we finish with Taoyuan Heights in Challengers, we will then start a brand new project in this constituency, in Conyers. We have already laid out the land; we have had the lot identified and Conyers will get a brand new housing development. Before the next general elections, this constituency is slated to get 54 houses,” said Honourable Lindsay Grant.
The repayment rate on these houses is two (2) percent upwards, and the government has designed a plan for persons who are bankable, said Minister Grant.
“If you are bankable and you go through NHC and NHC sends you down to Development Bank or some other institution and they realise you are bankable, it means that I don’t only get to build 54 houses, I get to build more because the bank will give you the money under the same terms and conditions as NHC, but it would not come out of my pool of houses. So you may have 20 or 30 people in this constituency who fit into that category.”
The representative for Constituency #4 encouraged persons to spread the word about this plan.
“So, instead of getting 54 houses, I might end up with 154. We are here to help you and to build houses,” said Minister Grant.
