A National Housing Trust (NHT) project which began in 2004, handed over 34 of its serviced lots on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness pointing to the delay as evidence of Jamaica’s productivity challenges.

Delivering the keynote address at a ceremony to hand over the 34 serviced lots under the project at the Cherry Gardens Housing Development in Kitson Town, St Catherine, Holness said the protracted timeline was because of the absence of adequate sewage systems and other supporting infrastructure, but underscored a deeper national issue of slow implementation despite strong planning.

“There is a certain exceptionalism about Jamaicans. But if you compare what we have actually achieved versus what is our potential, we will have to confess that yes, we have achieved so much, but we could have achieved so much more. Somewhere along the line, a perspective on how we administer our affairs has come to congeal itself in our minds that if it doesn’t take long, it wasn’t well done,” said Holness.

He argued that Jamaica’s bureaucratic culture has historically prioritised process over results, contributing to delays in delivering critical infrastructure and housing solutions.

“We have been led by a generation of thinkers who have adopted a perspective on bureaucracy that puts process over outcome. That may have been good coming through the colonial era… in terms of how we administer our affairs — to the point where we don’t trust ourselves, where we hide behind laws and regulations and rules, where we don’t view a lack of outcome as corruption. What we view as corruption is a lack of process. So the people not getting what they’re supposed to get, we don’t see that as corruption,” said Holness, adding that the country must shift towards measuring success by tangible delivery to citizens.

He maintained that improving productivity in both the public and the private sectors is essential if the country is to accelerate development timelines, including housing.

The comments came as the prime minister commended the NHT in partnership with Preview Limited for delivering the latest phase of the development, which forms part of a broader 193 serviced lots project in the Cherry Gardens community, supported through its interim financing programme.

Of the serviced lots, 80 were retained by the NHT, with 47 already delivered to beneficiaries, and Wednesday’s ceremony marking the handing over of the remaining 34 lots.

Under the arrangement, the NHT provides developers with up to 100 per cent financing at concessionary rates, on condition that benefits are passed on to buyers through reduced prices.

However, Holness noted that while the NHT has made significant efforts in making financing accessible, including offering mortgages at zero to two per cent to a substantial portion of borrowers, the housing challenge has now shifted to the inadequacy of supply to meet demand.

He explained that the efforts from the government and the NHT to increase accessibility to funding without a corresponding increase in supply of housing options has driven up prices.

“We are constantly increasing the amount that borrowers can access individually and collectively to purchase homes. We’re doing all kinds of things to give preference to the public service, to young people, to be able to access homes. What we have discovered is that the more we do in terms of increasing the accessibility to financing, is the more the market inches up the price. Why? Because there is just simply not enough houses being built on the market. So the more you create effective demand is the more the price goes up,” said the prime minister.

To address this, Holness told the ceremony that the NHT and the Government are now advancing a comprehensive master planning approach aimed at unlocking land and accelerating housing delivery.

Central to this is the Greater Innswood plan, being led by the NHT, which seeks to coordinate development across existing and emerging communities in St Catherine by addressing long-standing infrastructure gaps.

Holness said the plan will tackle issues such as inadequate roadways, drainage, water supply, and sewage systems, which he listed as constraints that have historically delayed or prevented approvals for housing developments.

He added that once completed, the master plan could unlock thousands of additional housing solutions in the area, with several projects already identified that could yield more than 3,000 units.

Holness charged that going forward, a shift towards prioritising productivity will be essential if Jamaica is to develop quickly and deliver projects more efficiently.

“What we see as corruption is that this ‘I’ was not dotted and this ‘T’ was not crossed. We need to change that mindset, to tie the people who are administrators, who are executives, who have ministerial function to whether or not the people got the road or got the house, or got the outcome that has made their lives better. That is what we need to twin. Effort must equal outcome. We must measure effort… It is a path that Jamaica needs to travel if we are going to be able to deliver 34 lots in less than 21 years.”

HOLNESS…we have been led by a generation of thinkers who have adopted a perspective on bureaucracy that puts process over outcome (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

New lot owners and other stakeholders in the Cherry Gardens housing project, pose with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (front centre) and Member of Parliament for St Catherine West Central Dr Christopher Tufton (2nd right) at the handing over ceremony for 34 serviced lots in Kitson Town, St Catherine Wednesday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)