Minister of Housing and Lands, Michael Lashley (FP)

The Incremental Home Construction component is another "manifestation of Government’s commitment to bring programmes to assist low-income families, in terms of housing."

This, from Minister of Housing and Lands, Michael Lashley, as he addressed 27 staff members of the Ministry and the National Housing Corporation (NHC) today, at a training seminar ahead of the two-day application fair to be held at the NHC, on Friday, May 25 and Saturday, May 26.

In the first phase, the Incremental Home Construction programme, a sub-component of the Housing and Neighbourhood Upgrading Programme (HNUP), will allocate 100 subsidies, with additional grants being allocated to eligible low-income families, over the duration of the programme.??

"This mechanism involves 400 subsidies valued at BDS $4M for a new homes programme and 600 subsidies valued at BDS $6M for the Incremental Home Construction programme, over the duration of this project… The subsidies allocated will allow families to do minor repairs like tiling, electrical or plumbing works to their homes and will represent up to $10,000 or 70 per cent of project costs," Minister Lashley explained.

Funds allocated to recipients will be paid directly to select building material suppliers. The process of the selection of material suppliers to participate in this component began in April.

"A request for proposals to select building material providers for participation in the programme was published in the print media in April, with a closing date of May 14th.?? These proposals will be evaluated by a Cabinet-approved evaluation committee, which is already in place.?? By way of this process, material suppliers will then be selected to be utilised by applicants to this programme," he said.??

Mr. Lashley also outlined that the NHC would soon be introducing programmes to further assist persons who could not afford to service a mortgage or purchase land on the private market.??

"We are on course in terms of delivering the $5 lots programme. We have vested land at Clifden and Woodbourne in St. Philip, Henley, St. John, Branchbury, St. Joseph and other areas, to cater to the low-income segment of the population.?? We also acquired land, this week, at Brighton, St. George, which is now going to the Senate for further approval and that land will also be utilised for the $5 lot programme," Minister Lashley revealed.

Also present at the training seminar were representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank, loan partner for the BDS $80M project and from the Public Investment Unit, government’s monitoring agency for state projects.

lbayley@barbados.gov.bb

Pin It on Pinterest