Leonce: Focus on affordable housing

HOUSING MINISTER Adrian Leonce said over the next four weeks, he will be prioritising the completion of ongoing and on-stream projects in order to provide affordable housing for citizens.

In an exclusive interview with Newsday at his office on South Quay on March 27, Leonce said he was operating within the limits of the Procurement and Disposal Act, which limited what he could do in the short time before the April 28 election date.

He said he had plans for each agency under the ministry, specifically the Housing Development Corporation, the Land Settlement Agency (LSA), the East Port of Spain Development Co (EPOS) and the Port of Spain Shopping Complex.

Under the HDC, he wanted to ensure that units which were completed or were practically completed be allocated. He said keys would be given out for the Edinburgh 500 units in the upcoming weeks.

He said some units were 90 per cent completed and he wanted to ensure the funds were in place to ensure contractors were paid for their work, even if the units were not done by April 28.

Leonce said he wanted the HDC to get back to its moorings of providing affordable housing for low-income earners.

“We have already awarded a contract for the construction of $300,000 units. This will make it easier for people like store clerks, franchise workers and low-income people to be able to purchase a house.”

With respect to the older units, he said the estate management arm of the HDC would be carrying out an aggressive Know Your Customers programme.

“We will be getting personal with clients, finding out what challenges they face and meeting them where they are. This will let us know who is occupying units illegally and which units have been abandoned. This will influence the corporation’s future policies and put us in a better strategic position, allowing us to improve stock and provide better service.”

Leonce said the ministry was trying to implement short-term skills development programmes in the housing schemes, hiring unemployed residents and giving them the skills to fix the challenges in the schemes they lived in.

He said his plans for the LSA included a focus on the Housing and Village Improvement Programme, which assists people in squatting communities to repair their homes or provides them with basic resilient structures with proper sanitation facilities. It also builds infrastructure in collaboration with other ministries.

“We borrowed $150 million to construct 500 new units, which will be distributed before the end of this fiscal year, so I’m looking forward to that. We will soon be distributing leases under the Government-aided Self-help Housing Programme (GASH), which lets families construct their own homes with our assistance.”

He said his ministry was set to deliver the first homesteads under the Youth Agricultural Homestead Programme (YAHP) to the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service, as the LSA had constructed the houses and the surrounding infrastructure.

Leonce said there were several programmes taking place through the East Port of Spain Development Company, including the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with Nu Wave Automotive Ltd for EPOS’ UpSkill internship programme. Another project is the entrepreneurial incubator programme with the National Entrepreneurship Development Company (Nedco) where people with small business ideas would receive business education and thereafter be given three months rent-free access to booths in the New City Mall on Independence Square. He said there were other social development programmes taking place throughout the 19 communities in East Port of Spain.

He said an important project for him was the latrine eradication programme.

“We have done surveys to find out how many people are still using latrines. We are building toilets and showers, sometimes as stand-alone structures next to the existing house or, where there is space, inside the house itself. The contractors doing the work come from the area itself, so we’re getting the social ills and gaps addressed and using the people in the community to address social and economic issues.”

The Port of Spain Shopping Complex will encompass three shopping facilities: the New City Mall, Eastside Plaza and 43 Independence Square, where a five-storey complex will be constructed. Leonce said the sod-turning would take place in the first two weeks of April.

“People from Port of Spain will be able to get subsided spaces. It will be an opportunity for people to have a space where they can set up their businesses, produce food stuff, do garment manufacturing, etc., and compete with retail places.

“There will also be a separate area for training and development. It’s not just about giving people cheap rates but training to be able to do your financials, how to do taxes, pay NIS, so when you want to expand, you will be able to acquire all the necessary statutory requirements to build your own dreams.”

Leonce said the ministry had recently distributed 175 home improvement grants. He commended his staff on their hard work. He said there were several subsidies which the ministry distributed, including $20,000 for home improvement and $50,000 for construction for people who fell within a certain income bracket.

He said he was willing to partner with any agency or ministry for social development, focusing on assisting the most vulnerable.

Leonce said over the next four weeks, he would be working longer hours and sleeping less, focusing on getting as much done as possible before the election.

He told Newsday he could not give a definitive answer on whether he would be able to serve as Housing Minister if the PNM wins the election.

“I am always willing to serve. I cannot answer that in a definitive way at this point in time, as I still have my personal issues to deal with.

“I was really humbled when Prime Minister Stuart Young asked me to serve until the election and I want to make him proud, make my constituents proud, and I want to feel that I contributed significantly as a minister. I’m putting my best foot forward and I’m confident I could make a difference at this point in time.”