Letter of the Day | Affordable housing should be top priority
Published:Friday | July 22, 2022 | 12:05 AM
THE EDITOR. Madam:
On this our 60th anniversary of Independence we can look back with commendable pride on how housing has developed in Jamaica. We have come a far way from wattle-and-daub, thatch laths and bamboo homes. I sense though that if the Housing Ministry does not study trends and halt the incline in the market we may very well return to pre-independence level. I see that coming, the number of sprawling ghettos in the country is a telltale sign.
The housing market in any country is the pillar of that county’s economy. It touches on so many industries and services that it has a powerful ripple effect. Builders need labour, lumber, hardware, architects, electricians, shopping, shipping, legal advice, skilled labourers, etc, etc. The consumer economy also benefits from the sale of furniture, appliances, garden supplies, among others.
In the 1970s Michael Manley sought to motivate and mobilise Jamaicans to become home-owners. It was then that the National Housing Trust (NHT) was established. This gave birth to developments across the nation, Portmore was signature to this venture so was Catherine Hall, Montego Bay. People called the houses then “matches box”, but it was a start and some motivation. The rest is history. These two referenced projects are now sought-after places in their respective locations. Sincethen, there is a plethora of construction companies in this business.
It is of note that the housing market can’t keep up with the demands for homes, nonetheless there is a great challenge. The cost of homes is prohibitive, unavailable and very high. God alone knows how Jamaicans survive.
I would like to challenge the Ministry of Housing to do a few things:
1. Devise means of lowering interest rates on construction and home-purchase loans. Many Jamaicans hopes of acquiring a home has gone from a dream to a nightmare. Present interest rates are going to send us back from the future.
2. Inflation is killing the people. They can’t keep up with prices at the hardware stores, nor can they keep up with the builder’s costs. In 2020 a house in Colbeck Phase Two was going for $14 million. In their advertisement last week pre-construction costs for phase three, 970 square feet, is now starting at $20 million dollars. Where is a middle-class family going to find money to service a loan of such magnitude? How about giving homestead exemption to people who are purchasing residential homes.
3. Build affordable houses in rural townships, like Black River, and establish income-generating ventures and industries to halt the exodus to city areas. This has caused the growth of urban slums. So many people migrate to the urban centres to eke out a living. Many have become disillusioned and resort to a life of criminality.
4. Upgrade building standards so people are less susceptible. Municipal cprporations should be more aggressive in building codes and town planning.
The NHT has morphed into a highly complex web of confusion and has become the cash cow of the Government. But I don’t see it building starter homes to help the low-income group. It’s time to relocate people in shanty towns, especially on the gullies, to housing complexes, so that when flood rains and hurricanes hit lives are not lost.
I call on the Government to do all in its powers to help more Jamaicans have access to affordable and decent housing, it is their responsibility so to do.
BURNETT ROBINSON