BlytheMANDEVILLE
THE Luana Provident Society recently held an information fair to tell the approximately 400 beneficiaries of the Luana Land Development Project in St. Elizabeth about Operation Pride, and about how to buy land and construct homes under the programme.
The information fair brought together financial institutions, construction companies and technical personnel involved in planning and development, including the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), the St. Elizabeth Co-operative Credit Union, National Housing Trust (NHT), National Housing Development Co-operation (NHDC), FP Construction and the St. Elizabeth Parish Council.
Dalton Robinson, Regional Manager of the NHDC, said the fair was aimed at ensuring that beneficiaries had adequate information on which to base decisions about obtaining mortgages.
"At the end of the day the beneficiaries should have the required information to help them choose the financial institution offering them the best deal as well as knowledge of how to obtain approved building plans," he explained.
Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Karl Blythe, said the information fair was "a first of its kind in the history of Operation Pride".
Mr. Blythe, reiterating the Government's commitment to ensuring shelter for all working Jamaicans, noted that "Operation Pride is intended to work with people in different geographical areas to provide them with affordable housing solutions without undue stress."
He urged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the easy payment schedule that the Ministry has made available through the NHDC.
The Minister at a meeting in February divulged that beneficiaries who paid a 20 per cent deposit and signed their documents by April 30, 2001, would pay an average cost of $350,000 per lot, those who met the requirements by May 31, 2001, would pay an average cost of $400,000 and those who paid after the first of June would pay as much as $500,000.
He told the meeting that the Ministry of Water and Housing, through the NHDC, would be offering mortgages to beneficiaries who could not otherwise obtain loans to pay for the land.
The Luana project was started in September 1995 on 160 hectares (400 acres) of government land just outside of Black River.
