Gloria Henry: Put low-income housing into the mix

Western Bureau:

With a plethora of housing developments taking place in western Jamaica, and further expansion projected for the lucrative outsourcing sector, president of the Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ), Gloria Henry, is calling for the establishment of low-income housing solutions to meet the demand of industry workers.

“It is fundamental that we have orderly development and for the country’s trajectory to improve the standard of living, that we see development in a holistic manner,” Henry told The Gleaner. “All the pieces of the ecosystem must be improved education, quality jobs, affordable and decent living conditions, robust and suitable transportation, good infrastructure, and healthcare are all key elements to this improved standard of living that we are all seeking.”

Henry continued, “Development has to reach the ordinary workers to take them off the periphery of life and give them a pathway towards the centre, where they can feel more inclusive.”

“A decent community with all the important infrastructure and amenities can be the springboard to greater economic development and lowering of social deficit in our region.”

The GSAJ, formerly the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), represents over 70 firms that boast a labour pool of some 40,000 workers islandwide. Montego Bay is home to more than 50 per cent of those working in the outsourcing industry, with about 25 firms located in the tourist capital.

“We have about 20,000 persons employed in the sector in Montego Bay and I believe that if we consider housing for about 10 per cent of the sector each year for the next five years, we would be happy,” Henry argued. “We need to build houses that can be financed by an NHT mortgage and I think we should consider solutions like the ones being built by Selective Homes in Hanover.”

“These are done initially as a complete one-bedroom in a modular manner and allows to be extended up to four-bedroom,” she added. “Similar ones are also being done in Friendship.”

public-private partnership is key

The GSAJ boss is convinced that public-private partnerships would be key to such undertaking, with the Government providing the land and private owners develop these communities in partnership with the National Housing Trust (NHT) or the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) Limited.

In October 2016, Prime Minister Andrew Holness became the first legislator to speak publicly on the issue of housing for BPO workers during the official opening of Ibex Global when he declared that the sector is poised for government attention.

“The Government of Jamaica is investing in ‘purpose-built’ facilities and ensuring that the necessary infrastructure (including requisite housing) is in place to enable expansion of existing companies and establishment of new ones,” Holness said.

The prime minister further argued that Jamaica can copy the achievements of several international destinations, bravely projecting 300,000 persons for local outsourcing, over time.

“Just three years ago, the IT services and BPO markets were estimated at US$952 billion globally, by next year, it is projected to grow to US$1.15 trillion. Jamaica can certainly command its share of this global market,” Holness stated. “It is indeed a critical sector in the plan for sustainable growth.”

But with hundreds of workers employed in the sector residing in the 32 unplanned settlements in Montego Bay, Henry is hoping that these communities can be developed to improve accessibility to the security forces and other emergency services.

“It would also allow for more sustainable and orderly development of the city,” Henry said. “The city is 40 years this year and the state of the majority of the communities are definitely not in keeping with our vision 2030, where Jamaicans can live and raise family.”

“With that said, there are additional lands in many of these areas such as Lilliput and Barrett Hall where hundreds of new homes can be built, but the safety and improvement of the bordering communities must precede these developments,” Henry said.