The Trinidadian company supplying prefabricated houses to the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines halted deliveries under the Unity Labour Party administration due to non-payment.
Minister of Housing Andrew John disclosed the situation in Parliament on Thursday, updating lawmakers on the housing situation in the country for people affected by Hurricane Beryl on July 1, 2024.
He said the housing ministry was “one of the most corrupt institutions” under the previous government.
John said that housing assessors’ contracts were not renewed when they expired last year, but some of the workers will resume duties soon.
He warned those involved in corrupt practices to consider whether they would want to return to work.
“They better not come, some of them. If they know what’s good for them, they better not come,” he said as he responded to a claim by opposition senator, Carlos James that the workers who contracts expired were fired.
“Some of those that you are claiming that we fired, because even before we got to that, you had already dismissed some of them,” John said.
“Sometimes, we operate as if we are not realistic. We know how it was done. Don’t come and try to frighten anybody to tell people any nonsense. We know how that programme was run.”
John suggested that the housing ministry was being used to shore up the ULP’s chances at the polls.
“And I’m saying to you, what is going to happen now is that this government is decided that housing is no longer going to be run for votes,” John said to cheers.
He said he went to the Southern Grenadines with the MP, Southern Grenadines and reproters from the state-owned Agency for Public Information.
“One of them wrote in the paper. …He said he had gone down to the Grenadines over 15 times — 15 to 20…, and this journalist is saying he has never seen that part of those places that we went to,” John said, referring to a radio commentary by API Information Officer, Lyf Compton, which was reported on by iWitness News.
“That’s where the devastation is. That’s where you see houses that have not even been cleaned out. The roofs are off. They have not even been cleaned,” John said.
“… I almost cried in Mayreau to see that persons are still living in tents in Mayreau, and we talking here about not putting enough money when you had more money and you did nothing with it?” the housing minister told parliament.
“So, I feel, if we stop the wastage — what we are saying here is that let us manage this money and fix the people’s business. And if it is not enough, we will come and look for more.”
He said the government will put structures in place, noting that the Ministry of Housing incudes Housing and Land Development Corporation, with which he has met.
“… and one of their grievances is that they are undercapitalised,” John said.
“So, you all come and talk a lot of maths about money and way it fu go. That is part of your legacy. They are undercapitalised, and so they could have done so much more, but every time they have to come to the government to beg, literally, for money to do the projects.”
John said the situation in the Grenadines is not just about housing.
“And I’ve been telling people a long time, when you talk about houses for people, we’re talking about a social impact, because the standard of living that you live impacts your mind,” said John, a retired educator.
“And so, it is important that we properly house our people. It’s important. It also involves safety. I’m really, really disturbed by some of the places I’ve seen people living in the Grenadines.
“There’s a place they call Tent City. There no doors; people can just come in. We cannot continue to have our people living like this. And that is why I am so happy with my prime minister for putting me in housing where I could help the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to build affordable, proper housing, and that will impact the lives of so many persons.”
He said the ULP government said it was importing 300 prefabricated houses to improve the housing stock.
The minister said only 40 of those homes arrived in St. Vincent, adding that he visited three that have been erected, and the others are in containers at the Tarmac in Arnos Vale.
“There are some from Guyana still in containers in orange Hill,” John said, adding that his first inclination was to put the programme on those house “because we’re not doing with what we have here.
“But when the lady from Trinidad seemed to have heard, she visited us, and she let us understand properly that they bring the homes in batches of 50, but you have to pay for the first 50 before you get the next 50.
“We still owe over US$200,000 on the first 40 that are here. What I’m saying to you is that numbers do lie. That is what I’m saying to you. And the people of this country had been led to believe what is not the reality.”
He said the prices of the homes are reasonably even as the need is pressing, including among people who were not affected by natural hazards, such as young professionals.
“Owning your own home is a value that Vincentians have, maybe more than any other Caribbean nation.
“… We have to make a change in our country to let our people develop confidence in themselves. That alone would impact on crime in this country,” John said.
“That alone would help us to get rid of all those reading problems and math problems that we are having. That will help to build back strong families in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It must start somewhere.
“I’m not going to come inside here and run around any bush with anybody you know. The people are out there suffering, and we need to look after our people.
“And if that is what the new government is saying, I am 100% with my government… If anything is needed for housing. If anything is needed for housing, please let us get the people’s business done,” John said as he endorsed the fiscal package.
The most corrupted department in the former ULP corrupted government, is housing. Read and educate yourself, what you don’t know can be your downfall.