ST JAMES, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness, says the Government is moving to resolve construction delays affecting beneficiaries of the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).

“The Government of Jamaica, and indeed myself, we are very sympathetic and understand the issues that would arise for persons who are waiting on their houses to be built, but there are delays and we are moving as quickly as we can to have those resolved and, indeed, in the cases that have been raised, we are moving as quickly as we can to have those beneficiaries get their houses as quickly as possible,” he said.

The prime minister was addressing a handover ceremony for a two-bedroom unit to NSHP beneficiary, Thressa Irving, in Roehampton, St James on January 31.

Responding to recent reports of delays in the construction of some NSHP units, Holness pointed out that the process of hiring NSHP contractors to construct the units is competitive.

“The Government of Jamaica has its set rules about contracting and we hire contractors on a competitive basis. They put in bids and tenders, and we assess who are the persons capable, based upon the tenders, to construct the house at the best possible price,” he said.

“There is no guarantee that having entered into a contract for the construction of a house that the contractors will deliver on time. Generally, contractors have delivered on a timely basis in this programme,” he emphasised.

The prime minister pointed out that during the construction of Miss Irving’s unit, two contractors were terminated and a third one had to be hired.

“In other words, there are many issues between the point of procurement and the point of delivering the house that could cause delays. What we have noted for the NSHP is that sometimes contractors would have taken up the project and the terrain is so challenging that they are not able to complete it,” Holness noted.

Holness outlined that in December of last year, contracts for the houses in the report were terminated, and new contractors should now be in place to complete the units in the next few weeks.

“I want the public to understand that it is not a straightforward matter of the Government entering into a contract and the contract is always performed, as we expect that there will be delays,” he said.

“The truth is that there may be those who would be saying, ‘Well once you have found out that the contractor is not performing, you should dismiss the contractor immediately’. However, I’m sure you will understand that built into the procurement and the contracting process, there are rules as to the timelines when contracts can be terminated, and you have to give the contractor and the other third parties proper time and notice, and if they ask for extension, that has to be considered,” Holness stated.

He added that under normal circumstances, a unit like Irving’s would take some six weeks to complete; however, due to the changing of contractors, the process was prolonged.

Irving was one of three beneficiaries who received homes on January 31.

— JIS