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Posted: Friday 18 March, 2016 at 11:50 AM

Housing Policy to roll out in April

The Hon. Eugene Hamilton
By: Terresa McCall, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHILE still not providing details of the ongoing work to produce a National Housing Policy, Minister of Housing the Hon. Eugene Hamilton said he is satisfied that work is progressing smoothly and he expects that policy to be rolled out sometime next month.

     

    Sometime in late January or early February, a committee was commissioned and tasked with compiling and proposing a National Housing Policy encompassing particular incentives.

    The call for the policy was made by Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris in late January and he charged the Ministry of Housing to “move with deliberate speed” to ensure that the one-month deadline which he set was met.

    Notwithstanding that that deadline has passed, Minister Hamilton told SKNVibes that the committee, which is headed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Human Settlement, Alistair Edwards, “is working and preparing the programme for housing”.

    Although he was careful not to give a specific date for release of the policy, the Minister expressed that he is “satisfied that work is apace and on track to be completed and the policy released in April”.

    When the draft policy is completed, it is expected to be submitted to Cabinet for perusal and eventual ratification.

    When Prime Minister Harris first spoke on the issue on January 27, he said the policy would be a comprehensive one designed to address a number of issues faced by the National Housing Corporation as well as current and prospective homeowners.

    “So 2016 then would be a year of action in terms of the start of the Team Unity’s Housing Programme which shall be comprehensive. It shall not be just about NHC building homes, it will also be about how can the government incentivise individuals to build their own homes. How can we, for example, by making land available at giveaway prices, ensure that those individuals who can are able to acquire land and then move on to the next stage in terms of advancing the property development?

    “It will be about how we make life easier for many who are in arrears in terms of programmes. And we’ll have waivers built in into the these agreements in terms of programmes that would lead to a reduction in interest rates where possible and practical. So it would be a wide-based programme that ensures quality housing is available at affordable space, but also provide incentives for private people to become involved in the acquisition of their own home rather than the solution only being state-driven.”
     
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