Dignity debate - Holness rejects PNP criticism of placement of plaques in homes of social housing beneficiaries

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has dismissed assertions that the practice of installing commemorative plaques on homes distributed under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) dehumanises beneficiaries and robs them of their dignity.

Speaking yesterday at the Howard Avenue Apartments opening ceremony in St Andrew, Holness said there is a collective sense of pride in using taxpayers’ money to build homes for the country’s most vulnerable.

“The indignity is that they didn’t have the house. The indignity is that they were living in cars and under trees and in structures that are about to collapse. It is the giving of dignity now when they get the house,” he said.

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has strongly criticised the Government over the placement of the prime minister’s name on plaques attached to social housing units, condemning the practice as the politicisation of welfare assistance for the poor.

“Every Jamaican deserves a safe roof over their heads, yes, but no Jamaican should have to pay for that with their privacy and dignity,” Opposition Spokesman on Social Protection and Social Transformation Dr Angela Brown Burke said last week.

Brown Burke, who is also the member of parliament for St Andrew South Western, attended the National Housing Trust (NHT) ceremony for the 248-unit studio-apartment development.

The apartment complex was constructed in partnership with Centauri Real Estate Company Limited under the NHT’s Guaranteed Purchase Programme. The development also forms part of the NHT’s innovative First Home Programme.

Under the programme, eligible homeowners will have the option to sell their apartments back to the NHT.

The repurchased units will then be made available to other eligible contributors, preserving affordable housing for successive generations of first-time homeowners while enabling existing homeowners to access new NHT financing to purchase another home.

Holness noted that five units in the development will be placed in the NHT’s social housing programme, which allows individuals in need to occupy a house under specific arrangements. Upon the passing of the beneficiary, the house will return to the NHT and be made available to another indigent person.

The prime minister also stressed that there are several government programmes that provide social housing, and asserted that the NSHP is a means of breaking generational poverty.

“When we build a house, we give it to a household for that house to become their property, so they are both now the legal owner. Their name will appear on the title, and they are also the beneficial owner — the benefit of the house goes to them in perpetuity as long as they maintain the social contract under which the house was given,” he said.

Declaring that the Government “will not stand and allow falsehoods, misrepresentations, downright lies, and mischief to lead this country astray”, Holness said his administration would be going “toe to toe” to counter misinformation about state programmes.

He also warned that his administration intends to use the law to pursue legal action against those who spread misinformation.

“We’re going to step up our response as well, because some of what is said borders on inciting violence. Much of what is said is also illegal and unlawful under Jamaican law. And we intend to prosecute those persons who break the law in this. The nation is at risk if we do not act,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com