Saturday, October 10, 2026
Each year the Government draws money out of the National Housing Trust to support the national budget, a transfer the Opposition’s housing spokesman puts at J$11.4 billion. Speaking at a World Habitat Day conference in Montego Bay, he proposed that at least 30 per cent of it be ring-fenced for roads, drainage, retaining walls and water in Jamaica’s informal settlements, which he numbered at more than 700, with roughly 30 per cent of people lacking secure tenure.
He also suggested material loans of around J$2.5 million for blocks and a roof, in place of mortgages of about J$9 million that many informally employed workers cannot reach. Community groups say many residents pay into the Trust without benefiting from it, and no Government response to the proposal has been reported. So when the housing fund is shaken for the budget first, what is left for the communities still waiting on a road and a title?
A big-headed official in a pinstripe suit shakes a nearly empty pink piggy bank marked “HOUSING FUND” over his head, a bulging sack stamped “J$11.4 BILLION” already at his feet. A single coin tumbles down towards a hopeful young couple holding up a paper that asks “30% FOR US?”, beside zinc fences, unfinished block houses and a roadside signpost reading “700 SETTLEMENTS”.
Read more: Opposition Wants NHT Cash to Fix Informal Settlements
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