A sponsor will donate windows and doors for 200 houses in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, helping families return after Hurricane Beryl forced them out on July 1, 2024.
Minister of Housing Andrew John said that the New Democratic Party administration is doing the assessment and should be receiving a donation of windows and doors soon.
“It’s an organisation. I really don’t want, I don’t know they will want me to call [their name],” he said on Boom FM.
“They have decided, along with the Red Cross, to provide us with windows and doors for 200 homes,” John said, adding, “That’s significant.”
He said that he visited recently and was surprised that there had not been more progress on the rebuilding after Hurricane Beryl damaged or destroyed more than 90% of the buildings in the Southern Grenadine islands of Mayreau, Union Island and Canouan.
“So they have also agreed to shuffle around some funds so as they can assist us immediately,” John said, adding that he had since had discussions with the Ministry of Economic Planning.
“And they are showing me that there was a loan that was already in place from the Saudi Fund, and it just needed to be fine-tuned,” John said.
He said that if that loan “comes on stream, which I’m trying to ensure that it comes on stream, that, again, can provide us with up to 200 homes, new homes, so the strain would be a lot off of our little financing, our budget financing.
“We could concentrate mainly on getting the materials here. But at the same time, Southern Grenadines would be a priority for us or is a priority for us. So, the people can rest assured,” the housing minister said.
John said that when his New Democratic Party (NDP) came to office at the end of November, there were 700 families who were displaced by Hurricane Beryl, who were still living in shelters, meaning apartments and houses.
The housing minister said that most of these families were accommodated in rented accommodation paid for by the government.
He said the ministries of Housing, Social Welfare and National Security, and the National Emergency Management Organisation had some information on the list.
“And what we observed, we were able to cut that in two; right down the middle, without — if you notice, you haven’t been hearing so many persons have been displaced now,” John said.
“The fact is, those that we took off the list had homes already in some of the other places but they were being accommodated for whatever reason.”
The minister said his view was that some people whose homes were repaired were “being coerced into supporting something they didn’t want them to.
“But it had a lot to do with politics. We can’t hide from it,” John said, adding that the list of displaced families is down to 300 households.
He said the government has agreed to continue to rent accommodation for “up to 270-something families”.
The minister said he had recently spoken with a woman from Union Island who told him she only needed “a few things” to complete her home.
“It’s just a few things, and she wants to go home. So, I’m saying to her, just let me get those things. … Let a contractor call and see what these things are.”
John said that the government will resume shipments of materials to the Grenadines.
As regards the arrangement with a Trinidad and Tobago company for the prefab houses ordered by the previous government, John said that a company representative visited SVG to discuss whether the government would continue with the arrangement.
“Because, as I said, initially, when I came in and I saw the situation, I was tempted to discontinue the programme, saying let’s not bother with that, let’s build our own local homes from our raw materials here,” John said.
“But then, when you examine the whole issue of the price and the time frame in which you could get these up for people, you see the need for the prefab,” John said, adding that the erection of a prefab house could take four weeks, once the foundation has been prepared.
“So, the Housing and Land Development Corporation, I think, is doing most of these,” John said of the foundation, which he referred to as “the platform”.
John said that the foundation has to be precise, adding that about 19 have been completed.
The minister said that the government is planning to move the assembly operation to Campden Park, saying, “… if you have a covered area where you could assemble them, it moves much more quickly.
“I think one of the challenges, too, with the prefab homes is that of land space, land availability. Because if you have the land, it’s easier, and if you could do them in clusters, it’s also easier,” he said.
“So, I think we are trying now to do … about 64 parcels of land in Chester. … It has not been finalised fully, but it’s near to completion, and that is an area that we may be putting some of them,” John said.
He said he is giving young people hope, adding that with 300 prefab houses being imported, “it’s really not just for persons who are affected by Beryl, but persons who are interested”.
The minister said people inquire daily about being able to obtain a prefab house.
“And one of the things they ask is, ‘How do I register?’” John said, adding that people can register at the Housing and Land Development Corporation in Kingstown.