Review of NHT completed

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Government has concluded a review of the National Housing Trust (NHT), aimed at determining reforms deemed “necessary” for implementation at the agency regarding its mandate.

Speaking at Wednesday’s official unveiling of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan for the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, Holness indicated that a report on the outcomes of the review has been prepared and is to be debated in Parliament.

He argued that matters related to reviewing the NHT’s mandate “really should have been debated long ago”.

“But, it is the kind of debate that requires the dedicated attention of the parliamentary agenda.We’re trying to find that slot within the parliamentary agenda where we can debate that report,” he informed, while assuring that “we, in short order, should [be able to] find the space … to dedicate two or three sittings to such a debate”.

The Bustamante Hospital Redevelopment Plan entails the construction of a multipurpose building to house a paediatric cardiac ward and a new overnight parent suite, for which ground was broken on Wednesday.

The facility’s development will be undertaken by the NHT, in partnership with the NHF and South East Regional Health Authority.

The overnight suite is intended to provide accommodation for parents travelling long distances in particular, to access medical care for their children at the hospital.

Holness, who has portfolio responsibility for the NHT, praised the entity’s management and staff for identifying the need for the facility, and “finding a way to fulfil that”.

He said while the agency is mandated to build houses, it also has an edict to develop communities around those homes. However, he noted that this mandate has been stretched over the years to support other areas of engagement.

These, the prime minister pointed out, include education, citing as an example, the Education Transformation Programme, for which $5 million from the NHT’s resources was earmarked.

Additionally, Holness said the NHT’s mandate was stretched to encompass national security, noting that the entity was engaged in constructing police stations to support several communities, and barracks for the Jamaica Defence Force.

“We are stretching [their mandate] again, to support the building of a health facility. This tells us that there is need for [a] review of the [entity, and] we have reviewed it,” Holness added.