Councillors to receive funds for indigent housing
ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie says the ministry will be allocating a “reasonable sum” for indigent housing support to all councillors across the island, beginning in January.
McKenzie, who was speaking at a special sensitisation session with councillors and mayors at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James, on December 12, said this is something he feels passionately about, and that the allocation will be made available on a quarterly basis.
“There are some houses that need maybe only three sheets of zinc, maybe even just a window, or a door, or even a toilet. The councillors oftentimes are not in a position to provide that needy service to their divisions,” he said.
The minister said that in the same way a member of parliament gets to use money from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), where a certain amount is set aside for social housing and social welfare, a similar system should be made available for councillors.
“You have to use that money for the sole purpose that it is dedicated for. I am making it quite clear that there are going to be strict guidelines as to how this allocation is going to be used. We don’t want to send it and then hear that it is spent on cleaning drains or for chopping down bush,” he emphasised.
McKenzie said the Equalization Fund would still be made available to assist with road repairs and drain cleaning, but that the greater portion will be used in a more productive way for the next four years.
“We are going to construct a brand-new female ward at the Portland Infirmary and we are also going to construct a multipurpose market in the town of Port Maria. Already, work has started on the Clarke’s Town Market in Trelawny, and this we intend to complete,” he said.
McKenzie added that a new market will be built in the town of Buff Bay in Portland, for which the drawing and costing are almost complete.
“The Manchester Infirmary, as well as the Montego Bay Infirmary, will also be seeing some action,” he noted.
