By Robert Hart, Staff Reporter 
Residents of Portland Cottage, south-east Clarendon, made homeless by Hurricane Ivan, survey their surroundings yesterday under the shade of tarpaulin. A stop-order on construction in Portland Cottage has been issued by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson. - Rudolph Brown/ Chief Photographer
PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson has ordered an immediate stop to the rebuilding of houses damaged by Hurricane Ivan in the community of Portland Cottage, south-east Clarendon.
At the same time Dean Peart, Minister of Land and Environment disclosed yesterday that a letter had been sent to the disaster preparedness committee in Clarendon ordering it to halt construction activities in the affected area.
Residents of the devastated rural community, which accounted for eight of the 17 deaths recorded as a result of the passage of the category four hurricane two weeks ago, had begun erecting new concrete houses in clear defiance of the Prime Minister's instructions that no rebuilding should take place in areas subject to severe flood damage.
"I am instructing the relevant state entities to enforce the building code and prevent persons from rebuilding houses in this area," Mr. Patterson said in response to Gleaner reports of the rebuilding effort yesterday. He was speaking during a meeting of the National Disaster Committee at Jamaica House.
Yesterday the Prime Minister also told The Gleaner that residents who were seeking to temporarily secure homes that had not been destroyed could still continue making repairs.
"We appreciate that in terms of temporary shelter people will want to put covering on their homes," he said. "Bearing in mind that there is the rainy season, and the hurricane season is not yet over; but when it comes to a permanent building these will have to conform with environmental requirements and proper building standards and those houses will not be allowed to be rebuilt on the existing site."
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the country could not afford to continue spending money to rebuild areas such as Portland Cottage and Rocky Point in Clarendon which was also devastated by the hurricane.
Yesterday Dean Peart, the Minister of Land and Environment, said the Government will be pumping $43.4 million into a Food For The Poor housing project, allowing the organisation to double its islandwide production of houses from 250 per month.
A total of 300 to 400 houses will be constructed for the Portland Cottage residents, depending on how many residents opt to move on their own. But the Government has yet to set a timeline for completion, Mr. Peart said during a press conference at his Half-Way Tree Road, St. Andrew office.
The Land and Environment Minister noted that the residents whose homes have been destroyed should remain at the shelters offered, where they can be provided with food and bedding. The Government, he said, will relocate the residents but does not want to rush the rebuilding of homes before properly identifying safe sites.
"We are doing the thing now. We are designing the thing, we've identified land, we are going to build the houses, we are going to put in proper central facilities, shower facilities and all that. Just hold on a bit," he told The Gleaner shortly after the briefing.
Staff reporter Dionne Rose contributed to this story)
