PM revives housing plan - Inner-city

[Jangle]

project will positively transform lives, says Simpson MillerPublished: Wednesday | May 1, 2013 8 Comments


Simpson Miller: No one can disagree that the Inner-City Housing Project has positively transformed the lives of people in some communities.



Housing units in Majesty Gardens, Kingston, which formed part of the Government's Inner-City Housing Project and were officially opened in 2006. - File




1 2 >
//Define: ContentSlider("slider_ID", [autorotate_miliseconds], [custompaginatelinkstext], [customnextlinktext]) ContentSlider("slider1", 15000) //OR ContentSlider("slider1", 10000) //OR ContentSlider("slider1", 3000, linktextarray) //OR ContentSlider("slider1", 3000, linktextarray, "Foward") //OR ContentSlider("slider1", "", linktextarray) //OR ContentSlider("slider1", "", "", "Foward")
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter Announcing the restart of the Inner-City [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Housing[/COLOR][/COLOR] Project (ICHP), Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller yesterday declared that such initiatives would "lift the standard and thinking of the people" in depressed communites and expressed confidence that it would not impair the viability of the [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]National [COLOR=blue! important]Housing [/COLOR][COLOR=blue! important]Trust[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] (NHT).
Describing as excellent, the Easton Douglas-led board and the trust's managing director, Cecile Watson, the prime minister said: "They would not lead me in a direction that would get the trust into trouble."
Added Simpson Miller during her contribution to the 2013-2014 Budget Debate: "They would never have approved it or they would never have allowed me to announce a project that the trust would not be able to go through with."
PROJECT HALTED
In 2008, former Prime Minister Bruce Golding indicated he had concerns about the [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]financial[/COLOR][/COLOR] strain it was putting on the trust and put the brakes on the programme, which involves providing [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]housing [COLOR=blue! important]solutions[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] to persons in depressed communities,
But yesterday, Simpson Miller said: "No one can disagree that the Inner-City Housing Project has positively transformed the lives of people in some communities such as Monaltrie, Denham Town, Majesty Gardens and Trench Town."
She told legislators that the programme has been reassessed and is to be restarted in 2014.
A [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]cash[/COLOR][/COLOR]-rich state entity, the NHT has been hit by the decision of the Government to pull $45.6 billion from its coffers over the next four years for budgetary support.
VIABILITY NOT THREATENED
Following the prime minister's address, Douglas insisted: "The viability of the trust and the sustainability and viability of the trust is not threatened.
"We have the basic capital to cause the trust to be viable and to be sustainable," Douglas said.
He said the NHT does its analysis of its financial position on a regular basis.
"Even when we were called upon for this $11.4 billion, we had already analysed what if we should be called upon to do this," Douglas said.
He added: "We have not come out and said so, but we have been doing this analysis to see if we should be called … . We looked at our financials to put us in a position that if we were called, we could have dialogue and see what we can do."
In his 2008-2009 Budget Debate presentation, Golding, citing the non-payment of mortgages in his own constituency of West Kingston, said delinquency was putting a strain on the NHT, which was established to assist contributors to purchase homes.
Golding, at the time, said the Housing Trust had spent $2 billion on the ICHP.
"The original commitment for the programme was $5 billion to build 3,000 houses in inner-city communities. Some 580 units have so far been delivered, and 1,184 are in varying stages of construction. Without any increase in the number of units, the cost has now jumped from $5 billion to $15.5 billion that the Trust is being called upon to find," he had said.
MIX OF DEVELOPMENT
Douglas yesterday said that when the programme is restarted, the ICHP would account for at least five per cent of the expenditure of the NHT for housing.
"We are going to start slowly and we are going to have a mix of development," Douglas said.
He noted that houses were being built by the Government in collaboration with Food For The Poor at a cost of $1.77 million each.
He said that unlike the last bite of the ICHP, in which two-bedroom homes were constructed in four-storey apartment buildings, the rebirthed programme would see a combination of detached housing units such as studios.
Douglas, while saying he was not able to provide data on compliance yesterday, also indicated "it has improved substantially from the point of view of compliance in the payment of mortgages".

[Islandman]

I do not have a problem with using some of the NHT funds for this.

Mosiah is this the project that you have done some work on in the past?

I assume that they are built with policing in mind.

[Jangle]

So I was in Kingston a few weeks ago. The last time I was there was back in 2007 and I only went to certain parts to visit some friends. This time around, I ended up driving along Spanish Town Road through Three Miles onwards to Mandela Highway. I was taken aback by the absolute desolation of the communities along the route. When I lived in Jamaica, Spanish Town Road was my daily route, and it was desolate then, but it looks worse now. It looked like a place out of a Terminator movie. You don't want to be there at nightfall.

Jamaica is devoid of good leadership. The collective leaders given the task to govern the country, in both parties, but moreso in the PNP, are devoid of any new ideas or will to move the country forward. It is painful to watch the progressive destruction of our country by these vultures. There are multitudes of opportunities available to move Jamaica forward, but they require the guidance and most importantly the will of the goverment to implement and see to fruition.

I have said it here many times before that the history of Kingston and with it being the capital of Jamaica, given her geographical location, makes it possible to be Jamaica's biggest foreign currency earner which can outstrip all of the other tourist locations combined. It requires proper development and the will and financial investment from the government.

Jamaica is one of the few places in the world where oceanview properties on prime land is overrun and littered with ghettos. The entire strip of land that runs along the Kingston Harbour would be considered prime property in a more advanced soceity.....not Jamaica. Rockfort, Rae Town, Downtown, Seaview Gardens, Riverton etc, are all prime properties which should have high-end homes and commercial activities. Kingston should be developed as the primary metropolis of the caribbean, starting with downtown and expanding east and west. There should be more hotel room being built. The potential of Kingston is extensive, but we are stuck with the reality of Portia "talking" about developing the innercity.

[Mosiah]

An involvement of which I am most proud!

People can say a lot about the ICHP but they need to know some facts. I shall address one here.

The ICHP built 2 and 4 story structures. Some say it continued the bad design of the past by constructing project-style buildings. Well, when a study indicates that x mount of housing solutions are needed in Kingston and you only have y acres to build those solutions, you best believe that 4 storey dwellings will have to be built! There is a serious shortage of land in Kingston! The largest tract of land is No Man's Land which acts a buffer between the traditionally warring communities of West Kingston and South St. Andrew. Needless to say, it is ridiculous that even in the post-Dudus era where police have a little more power in those communities, it appears No Man's Land will continue as the name implies. Access to that land would, almost by itself, solve the land problem.

I could go on all day about this but let me just end here by saying that, as I have reminded this forum, that the ICHP must be restarted, no matter which govt. is in power. Call it anyting yuh want call it as I see Portia is now calling it the Inner City Renewal Program or something like that. But the squalor that is downtown Kingston is a time bomb socially, environmentally and financially. It's the least our govt. can do after our people were shoved onto the worst lands following emancipation.

[Mosiah]

And you are right!

Manley Meadows is a relatively recent development. It is prime real estate! Ocean front property!

Now, it's all well and good to have low-cost housing occupying lands with great vistas and the rest, but there is a lot more that can probably happen a place like Manley Meadows had luxury condos instead of what's there.

[Assasin]

The only thing needed is improvement in the payment rates. If we can find 45 billion for IMF from NHT we need to do more. I note of interest when Hurricane pass, NHT or no government didn't come forward and try to give any of the affect home owner any help but instead it was Food for the Poor.

As you said better housing are needed in these areas and I don't care about the small things. Payment must be low so people can make the payment and but NHT must be also be paid back to provide for others. The condition many of the people live in shouldn't be.

[Mosiah]

A large part of the ICHP was the social aspect. The NHT provided skills training, strata management training and the rest of it. It was very impressive in my view. Some of the housing units had retail areas, community centres, sport facilities, day care, etc.

Some solid work was done prior to actual building block construction. There was an understand of all the things you mentioned. Don't mind what HL says, there are some smart people left in Jamaica who actually know what they are doing or what should be done.

Payments plans were very reasonable for the homeowners and the NHT was very patient in working with those who had fallen behind on their payments.

[TDowl]

"Jamaica is one of the few places in the world where oceanview properties on prime land is overrun and littered with ghettos" Well said, and worst, no plan in place to reverse.

[Sir X]

You unlock the real estate potential of Kingston by itself , you unlock the engine and that doesnt even factor in the ports.I see the same thing Jangle sees in Kingston the rich history , Kgn- St. Andrew - Port Royal..delapidated houses on prime real esate....crazzzy ....ow panama ave it lock.

[Hortical]

More housing for PNP supporters....will she ever do anything for her own constituency, other than providing bun & cheese during Easter?

[Jangle]

the cycle just continues of putting up garrisons.Those "innercities" need to be bulldozed.

[OJ]

so build in no mans land and change the outlook. it like i see the straw market in mobay consuming good real estate and i am thinking why not move it and build a la live type entertainment thing. But people tell me i am mad because its the straw market.. Well its not generationg revenue so hell with it, it was an idea prior all inclusives.. anyway i hijack unno thread.. I think build innercity housing yes, but make them attractive, they look like cuban housing.

[Islandman]

...so build in no mans land and change the outlook

That is the obvious answer but it would take a certain type of political leadership especially at the local level. Just don't see it happening.

[1of1]

jamaicans love hill nuh seaside

[Assasin]

Not true. Them love mainroad. When I go to certain areas in the hills that family occupied heavily, until the 80s. Now these houses are rotting and everybody either move to to main road or away like myself. We love certain hills as some status people live there but I can remember my grandmother told me how they laugh at her when she bought a hilly peace of land call "bruk way".