Gov’t to ramp up delivery of houses through new partnership with FFTP
Published:Saturday | January 20, 2024 | 12:08 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has revealed that his administration plans to re-establish a partnership with charity organisation Food For The Poor (FFTP) to accelerate the delivery of houses under the Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).
The announcement came as Holness officially handed over a two-bedroom house to Gillian Coleman in Berkshire Hall district, Linstead, constructed at a cost of $4.5 million under the NSHP.
The prime minister commended FFTP for its longstanding commitment to housing initiatives, emphasising its expertise in utilising lumber as a primary building material.
“We would like to engage them in this because they have the technology and the expertise to deliver affordable houses,” Holness stated during his address.
Acknowledging past challenges that led to the dissolution of the Government’s previous partnership with FFTP, Holness assured that the current NSHP is well-established with efficient procedures.
“Now that we have established our social housing programme, it is well run, and it has established procedures, which are acknowledged right across, being very integral,” he added.
FFTP has previously partnered with the Government on programmes such as the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme.
On Thursday, highlighting the Government’s beneficiary identification system, Holness assured that there was a comprehensive machinery in place to ensure proper documentation of beneficiaries.
He outlined that the charity organisation will need to verify the security of land tenureship for the housing solutions, and the Government’s NSHP has established a robust process for this purpose.
In relation to construction, the prime minister expressed confidence in the efficiency of the NSHP’s system, paving the way for a potentially fruitful partnership with FFTP.
Before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Holness visited Guy’s Hill High School, where he delivered a motivational talk to fifth and sixth-form students, emphasising the importance of hard work and acquiring multiple skills for success in a developing economy. He also took the opportunity to answer questions from the students.
The prime minister also toured a section of Moreland Road in Guy’s Hill, where a significant section of the road underwent rehabilitation using funds from a $40-million constituency allocation to members of parliament.