MINISTER of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has expressed confidence that enough safeguards are in place to ensure that only bona-fide employees in the sector benefit from the approximately 4,000 houses being constructed for tourism workers.

According to Bartlett, he has disappointing news for people who may now be thinking of rushing into the industry just to try and claim a house.

Bartlett told the Jamaica Observer that the decision on the allocation of houses rests with the human resource departments in the various tourism entities.

“We will work with them to identify the workers,” said Bartlett as he underscored that current tourism workers who are concerned about their eligibility for these houses can also apply to the National Housing Trust (NHT), which remains an option.

He said talks are also being held with mortgage companies about developing longer-term financing for up to 50 years to benefit workers in the tourism sector.

In pointing to the development of approximately 4,000 houses that is well under way, Bartlett explained that the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) acquired 250 acres of lands, located in Rose Hall, St James.

He said about half of that land is occupied by informal settlers, mostly workers in the tourism industry, and the Government plans to provide then with land titles soon under a special programme.

Bartlett said after acquiring the lands the Government made a decision not to displace the more than 500 families there but to put in key infrastructure and then sell them parcels of the land on which they already built concrete structures.

He shared that on the other half of the 250 acres, ground will be broken for 1,500 houses for tourism workers with construction taking place through a partnership with the China Harbour Engineering Company and the Housing Agency of Jamaica.

“These people literally live on the land and work in the tourism industry primarily. The land is across the road from Iberostar,” Bartlett said.

He added that as a strategic move in 2010, the Government allocated $1 billion of TEF money to start looking at communities which are in tourism areas and have serious social problems.

“Because I wanted to use that as a model, we did two things. We built and fixed all the roads and things in Flanker and Norwood. We did some work in Belair in St Ann, and White Hall and Lilliput in St James. We put roads into these communities to make them accessible,” Bartlett told the Observer.

“These people built concrete houses on the land. Right now it’s like Beverley Hills [in upper St Andrew],” Bartlett added.

He shared that the mission to build houses for tourism workers is active, pointing to a 1,500-unit development that is currently under construction by the NHT and construction company West Indies Home Contractors.

“That is 1,500 units that will be focusing on tourism. Grand Palladium is adding 1,008 suites and in the process, 600 houses for tourism workers,” Bartlett pointed out, as he reported that another hotel, which he did not name, has completed apartment structures for 500 workers, while another is in the process of completing 100 units for tourism employees.

Bartlett stated that the Government’s strategy to open housing opportunities for workers in the tourism sector is working and the collaboration between partners is unfolding well.

“The workers of the tourism industry are being taken care of, not fully, because nobody can fully do it yet,” declared Bartlett, who has repeatedly argued that the people who serve Jamaica’s visitors should have a stable place to call home.