KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness has reiterated the government’s commitment to providing affordable housing solutions for Jamaicans.

Holness noted that the National Housing Trust (NHT) has largely focused its efforts on providing mortgages for individuals who cannot afford high priced units.

“A shelter is supposed to protect us from the elements, it is supposed to give you a certain convenience, and it should be an asset that you can pass on for generations,” he said.

Holness was speaking at a handover ceremony for a two-bedroom unit under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) in Devon, Manchester on April 14.

The New Social Housing Programme was established in 2018 by the prime minister as the housing component of the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme.

It was developed to improve the housing condition of the country’s poor and disadvantaged population by providing quality, affordable and sustainable housing.

Meanwhile, Holness also called on private developers to provide affordable housing solutions for a segment of the market that falls below the $15 million price point.

He further informed that the Government is “strategically increasing the highway network to ensure that people can move from urban and residential centres into the productive centres of the country where the employment is.”

“We have to build the highway network so that it opens up lands for housing developments,” he said.

On April 14, Holness handed over six houses to beneficiaries in the constituencies of Central Manchester and North East Manchester.

Currently, there are 38 houses being built under the programme.