MONTEGO BAY, St James — President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) Janet Silvera is lamenting the chronic shortage of affordable housing for workers in the second city.

“Montego Bay is a very strong job market with high demand for housing, but finding affordable homes at virtually every income level is a challenge — particularly for our low-income earners. Residents have continued to voice their concerns, including our local businessmen and women who lose good employees because of the severe shortage of affordable rental homes,” she said.

“It truly aches my heart to say…that affordable housing remains out of reach for thousands of Jamaican citizens, especially our bright, promising young people,” the MBCCI president continued.

Silvera was speaking yesterday at an investor-targeted forum put on by Jamaica Promotions Corporation and JN Bank, which was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James to discuss the provision of suitable housing solutions and financing options, especially for the lower-income and middle-class sections of society.

Research has shown that Jamaica will require approximately 15,000 new houses annually, but only 4,000 units are being built yearly — representing only about 25 per cent of demand.

Silvera said that with the expected boom in the tourism room stock, the growing demand for affordable housing will be exacerbated.

“While we are pleased to see the employment rate increase in Jamaica, we are leaving too many vulnerable people unable to afford their housing. Furthermore, Jamaica’s tourism sector has experienced record growth, and the Minister of Tourism, Honourable Edmund Bartlett, recently announced that over the next five years, Jamaicans and tourists can expect to see 12,000 new rooms being added to the country’s tourism industry, which include additional rooms in Montego Bay. But, Mr Minister, where are these employees going to live?

“We have to understand that it all goes hand-in-hand. If we are aiming to improve our citizens’ standard of living and our country’s economic performance, affordable housing solutions must be a part of the plan.

“Living with friends or renting a shared house is an increasingly common way of living for our young adults, as they struggle to raise the deposit required to get on the housing ladder. Despite Montego Bay being one of the top places for employment opportunities, many are being priced out of the affordable housing solutions, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds,” she continued.

Silvera argued that the provision of more affordable housing for residents of St James has to be a major part of the strategy to tackle squatting in the parish, and regularising these informal settlements that remain a challenge to police and “the safety of our residents and local businesses”.

“Therefore, we cannot leave out the informal settlements that continue to wreak havoc on our parish. The majority of homicides are taking place in Montego Bay’s squatter communities,” she said.

She argued, too, that the St James business community welcomes, and is looking forward to, the Government’s promise to deliver 22,000 housing solutions by 2021 through the National Housing Trust and private housing developers.

“But we know that this will not be enough because we have approximately 20,000 houses in the squatter settlements alone. So we are imploring investors and housing developers to look into this [as] not only a successful business opportunity but also as a way to affect our city’s social infrastructure,” Silvera said.