Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth Dr Horace Chang says the Government is focused on creating a viable programme to deal with squatting over the next couple of years.

Squatter upgrading will form a critical part of the Government’s urban regeneration programme, Dr Chang said as he made his contribution to the sectoral debate in the House of Representatives Wednesday.

However, he cautioned that if the Government is to succeed in addressing the squatting problem, it would have to be done on a bipartisan basis.

“It is important that it be recognised as a national programme in the true sense, and not a political ploy by any administration to impact the distribution of votes in the communities,” the minister commented.

“Work that will be done in Mongoose Town, for example, must not be seen as an attempt to undermine the leader of the Opposition. Similarly, the proposed redevelopment of Rasta City is not an attempt to introduce new votes,” he said.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness first raised the issue of the urban regeneration programme while making his contribution to the 2017/18 budget debate last month.

Holness said then that the urban regeneration activities would be done through the National Housing Trust (NHT), in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and with support from the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the National Water Commission (NWC).

He said that the main objective is to re-establish desirability for living in areas that were once considered high- to middle-income housing areas, but are currently in need of re-development. Among the areas the Government has proposed for a pilot project are are Kingston Gardens, Eastwood Park Gardens, and Vineyard Town.

Dr Chang said, Wednesday, that the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ), although being subject to review, has already initiated developments and improvements in several areas, including Reid’s Pen, St Catherine, and Runaway Bay, St Ann, to ensure that it can pay its bills while its re-organisation is executed without dipping into the Consolidated Fund.

He said that, despite the review, the HAJ would be continuing its squatter upgrading projects under the urban regeneration programme.

“This ministry plays a significant role in coordinating the water and infrastructural components and, in addition, will commence model housing projects in West Kingston and Denham Town shortly,” Chang said.

“…Squatting must be addressed,” he stated. “It has become the source of much social ills and this Government, which started the squatter upgrading programme with the support of the other party for a time in our last administration (2007/2012), will reinvigorate and ensure that we have a viable programme to deal with squatting over the next couple of years,” he noted.

Dr Chang noted that there are some informal settlements that are so dense, that the only way the infrastructure can be adequately upgraded and the lives of the residents improved is to relocate some people.

He said that, in addition, some settlements are located in environmentally sensitive areas and simply cannot be allowed to remain as they are.

“This Administration has already demonstrated that we are not afraid to take the tough decisions, and so where relocation is necessary, we will do so. But rest assured that this will be done in a manner that results in minimal dislocation to the affected persons,” Dr Chang said.