Gov’t exploring modular housing units for vulnerable Jamaicans

As part of its commitment to addressing housing challenges, the Government is exploring the introduction of modular semi-permanent housing units across the island as an additional option for meeting the housing needs of vulnerable Jamaicans.

Prime Minister, Dr Andrew Holness, made the announcement during the handover of a three-bedroom unit under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) to beneficiary, Andrea Burke, at 43 Rosemary Lane in Kingston on Tuesday.

“We have now pivoted into focusing our resources on the recovery in the western end of the island, and we are focused heavily on… the construction and installation of the modular semi-permanent units. These units are fairly well built… they are small in size. They are a container size… but when we double them, we get a decent footprint that could be the equivalent of a small studio unit.

“We are going to be exploring how we can use these units in other shelter provisions, but we are going to test them to see how long they last, how well they regulate heat, how well they can be secured, and the report of the persons who reside in them as to the comfort level that they have. If they pass the test, then we will start to use them right across the island. We may even make our own innovations as to how we can make them stronger and improve upon them,” he said.

Holness argued that the units would be more durable than some of the structures that individuals currently erect as shelters.

“They may very well provide us with a solution that would be easier to deploy and much better than the solution that is now being informally used… which is, if someone wants a little place to live, they buy a few sheets of ply, a few sheets of zinc, some lumber and they make up a small little one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit for themselves.

“These pre-built containerised solutions may very well offer us a more orderly way of providing housing for those who can’t afford it. This is not to say that we will discontinue solutions like these [units handed over]… we may very well have to build solutions like these depending on the circumstances. But we will now have different solutions for different circumstances,” Holness said.

Meanwhile, the NSHP unit handed over will be occupied by Burke and her family.

Holness encouraged her to be an ambassador for positive living, noting that the Government is helping to break intergenerational poverty by providing assets and improving the lives of Jamaicans.

In expressing gratitude, Burke said that her dream of owning her own home had finally been realised.

“Today is a very special day for me. Owning my house was made possible with the help of the Prime Minister and the [Member of Parliament for Kingston Central] Donovan Williams. I am truly grateful for this opportunity,” she said.

Williams, who is State Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, described the NSHP as a blessing, noting that it has been transforming lives in the constituency.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, Arlene Williams, said that, to date, 349 houses have been built under the NSHP, with 65 currently under construction at various stages of completion.

- JIS News

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