Montague dissatisfied with pace of Trelawny container housing project

BUNKER’S HILL, Trelawny — Minister with responsibility for land, titling and settlement Robert Montague has expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of construction of eight containerised housing units in Bunker’s Hill and other areas of northern Trelawny for families affected by Hurricane Melissa last year. Montague, who has oversight of the Government’s containerised housing solutions for hurricane victims, made the comments on Tuesday while touring a site in Bunker’s Hill with Trelawny Northern Member of Parliament Tova Hamilton. The eight container units will comprise double-unit structures to accommodate larger families. They form part of a national initiative to provide 2,700 containerised houses for people affected by the hurricane. “I, as a minister, am not pleased with the progress of this project, but I am also heartened by the work that is being done on the field, and also the cooperation of members of the community, because we are all in this together,” Montague said. He acknowledged that the project had encountered difficulties involving contractors and the ministry but said those issues had been addressed, allowing construction to proceed. According to Montague, frequent afternoon rainfall has also affected the pace of work. “The contractors have assured me that they now have what they want from the ministry, and they are proceeding as fast as they can,” he said. Montague said the Government had to ensure that the project complied with established procedures governing the use of public funds and donations, noting that the scale of the initiative presented new challenges. “So we are out in the field making sure that the work is going, because we also have to observe the statutory guard rails and governance structures of Government to ensure that the taxpayers’ money and donated funds are properly spent, and therefore these things had to be done, and it has taken some time,” he said. Land tenure and ownership issues had also contributed to delays, as some prospective beneficiaries did not hold titles to the properties on which the units were to be installed. Montague explained that exceptions had been made to accommodate beneficiaries who could not meet conventional land-tenure requirements, given the removable nature of the structures. “Because these were containerised solutions, we decided to make an exception in these cases where lease land [with] no and deed of gift would… be accepted, because at the end of the day, if there’s an issue with the landowner, we can always retrieve the unit because there are containerised solutions,” he said. Montague appealed for patience from affected residents while urging those involved to accelerate implementation. “Therefore, we want to say to Jamaicans, we have asked you for patience. We’re still asking for that patience and understanding. And I, too, I’m not pleased with the progress. But we have been moving, and I cannot point a finger anywhere but to just say, let us speed it up,” he said. The minister described the Bunker’s Hill development as the first phase of the initiative in Trelawny and added that officials had worked through initial challenges and were preparing to extend the programme to other communities, including Deeside, Coxheath, and Brampton in the parish. Hamilton welcomed the start of construction, as she pointed out that Trelawny was among the parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa last October with residents still awaiting housing assistance. “I am very happy that we are here today, because it means that progress is happening,” said the MP. Hamilton said she was looking forward to additional phases of the programme and expressed appreciation for the minister’s visit to assess the work.