MORANT BAY, St. Thomas:
CONSTRUCTION OF 75 housing units for employees in the sugar industry in Duckensfield, St. Thomas, should be completed within 8 - 10 weeks, says chief executive officer of the Sugar Company of Jamaica, Ambassador Derrick Heaven.
This assurance was given in the wake of the lifting of a stop order on construction by the St. Thomas Parish Council.
Ambassador Heaven was speaking to The Gleaner during a tour of the construction site on August 25, while on tour with senior officers of the Parish Council.
Last week, the Parish Council placed a stop order on construction of the houses, saying no plans had been submitted to the Council for approval relating to the development.
Secretary/manager of the Council at that time, Mrs. Jean Stewart-Flemming said that there were also health concerns as well as the danger of the area being flood prone. However, the stop order was lifted during the following week after representatives of the sugar company met with the Parish Council. The sugar company accepted that no plans were submitted to the Council, but the parties arrived at a resolution to ensure that the work continued.
On Wednesday, Ambassador Heaven told The Gleaner that he was touring the site with officials from the Parish Council to ensure that the development conforms to stipulated regulation. He dismissed claims that the area was flood prone, and said that the process was basically to provide housing solutions on a convenient location for the residents of the area. He added that retired workers of the St. Thomas Sugar Company, as well as current workers will get the units free of cost, which have been donated by Food for the Poor and are being built on lands belonging to the St. Thomas Sugar Company.
Morant Bay's Mayor, Owen Atkinson, who was also on the site said he was now satisfied with the development plans. The mayor said the houses will be distributed by the St. Thomas Sugar Company and that no political association has been linked with the project, although MP for the area, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, has been agitating for the development.
The houses are being built for the workers and retired workers, who have been living in squalor and poverty at the Duckensfield Barrack, which was built during the days of slavery.
