– 100 LED street lamps to be installed

IN the first half of 2019, the government expended $375.3M of the $1.7B allocated to the housing sector, according to the 2019 Mid-Year Report published by the Ministry of Finance.
According to the report, of the $780M budgeted for consolidation efforts in housing schemes across the country, approximate $90M was expended as of June 2019.
The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) commenced road upgrades in 12 areas in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six, totalling nine kilometres. These road projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2019, and will benefit approximately 2,000 persons in each housing area.

Additionally, of the $750M budgeted for the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme, the sum of $126.1M was expended in the first half of 2019.
During the six-month period, works commenced on the upgrading of roads in Sophia, with

seven kilometres expected to be upgraded by the end of 2019.
In the second half of the year, a total of 350 Sophia households will benefit from the distribution of 300 home improvement subsidies to the value of $170M, and the construction of 50 core homes from a total of 113. The disbursements are anticipated to commence after applications are evaluated and beneficiaries selected for the 2019 cycle.
According to the report, Sophia will also benefit from the construction of approximately 2.1 kilometres of sidewalks, in the second half of the year while the upgrade to schemes across the country is expected to increase the occupancy of these areas.

However, the report said there still remains a backlog of housing applications that is being urgently addressed.
During the first half of 2019 CH&PA distributed a total of 541 house lots in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Nine – 54.1 per cent of the target for 2019, the report stated. The house lots were distributed in areas such as Onderneeming, Onderneeming Phase II, Onderneeming Phase III, Recht Door Zee, Zeelugt (Phase I), Eccles, Providence Gardens, Plot B Herstelling, Perseverance, Prospect, Providence (115), Parcel 123 Providence, Section C Block X Golden Grove, Section A Block X Great Diamond, Mon Repos, Lowlands, Enmore, Experiment, Culvert City and Tabatinga. It is expected that an additional 459 house lots will be allocated in the second half of the year.
Additionally, CH&PA is expected to develop 4,000 new house lots in 12 areas, with distribution expected in 2020.

In 2019, the sum of $170M was allocated for housing and roof replacement subsidies in hinterland areas, of which $144M was spent in the first half.
The 2019 mid-year report stated that of the 112 subsidies for new houses targeted in 2019, 35 were completed by June. The remainder is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year, with materials already procured.

With regard to roof replacement subsidies, 16 of the 27 households targeted for this year benefitted from this intervention in the first half.
In the first half of 2019, the sale of 21 housing units was exempted from VAT, as a result of the Budget 2018 measure that excluded houses sold for less than $6.5M from this tax. In 2018, 13 housing unit sales were exempted from VAT, as a result of this measure.
Meanwhile, it is expected that 100 Light Emitting Diodes (LED) street lamps will be installed in several housing areas, in the second half of the year, to improve night time visibility and security.

These areas include: La Parfaite Harmonie, Cacique Road, Little to Great Diamond, Enmore/Haslington, Tract A Coldingen, Section D Non Pareil, Block 15A/15B Bladen/Vigilance, Belfield, Hope/Dochfour, Strathspey, Belle West, Tuschen, Zeelugt, Ordnance Fortlands, Kilcoy Chesney, Burma, Amelia’s Ward and Wisroc 1B.
The report noted that rehabilitative works are also expected to commence, in the second half of the year, on recreational facilities at Prospect and Amelia’s Ward, allowing for the hosting of community events, including sporting activities, towards the promotion of cohesive communities.