PM Skerrit attends Housing Recovery Project Ceremony, emphasizes shelter importance

Roseau, Dominica: Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit attended the 5th official handover ceremony of 42 houses under the Housing Recovery Project. He underlined the importance of shelter in one’s life and expressed his commitment to provide sustainable living standards to the citizens.

The Housing Recovery Project is held in collaboration with the World Bank, focusing to replace the houses which were destroyed due to Hurricane Maria by building resilience in the housing sector.

PM Skerrit stated that two of Dominica’s villages were wiped away and completely destroyed due to the Hurricane. He recalled the day when he visited those places, which were devastated, and saw that people had taken shelter in a school. He assured them that the government would come up with a solution and make necessary improvements at the site.

Today, the houses were replaced by the new hurricane-resilient homes and that community is the most visited community in the entire Caribbean.

Speaking about the housing policy, he said that this project will provide an opportunity to many citizens to get houses at very reasonable prices. The government instituted a policy for the people who have government lands for a long time. The authorities envision to sell those lands to the beneficiaries at one-dollar square foot.

In some cases, it can exceed $12 per square, and people will also get a certificate of title, which enables them to take loans from banks to start the construction of their houses.

Moreover, tropical coastal America affected 90 percent of GDP and housing was a major challenge for the World Bank for financing. Initially, the bank agreed only to replace the roofs of the houses but the Prime Minister, with his government, still managed to redefined the programme and build the houses.

The government of Dominica worked dedicatedly, extraordinarily, and diligently to recover from the destructions that occurred due to the Hurricane and provided adequate housing for these people. 

The housing project has transformed the lives of people in Dominica. Recently, a total of 73 houses have been delivered to the beneficiaries three months ago, which is a testament to the hard work that has gone into the outputs. of this project.

Additionally, the ceremony was attended by the PM Skerrit, the Minister for housing and Urban Development- Melissa Skerrit, Members of Cabinet, Permanent Secretaries, Senior disaster risk management Specialist, World Bank and Housing Project manager along with other officials.