BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, October 18, 2021 (MMS-SKN) — To encourage more homeownership the Team Unity Government has made arrangements for private individuals to develop lands to build residential properties. In this regard private developers will soon be building homes in Cayon, Tabernacle, and Sandy Point.
This follows recent efforts of the St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla Trading and Development Company (TDC) to build out Dewar’s Housing Project, and the St. Kitts Co-operative Credit Union is also slated to start a housing programme this week.
“We have made provision for ordinary people who could buy a one-acre plot of land or more to come forward, build homes and sell them so that the burden of housing does not rest entirely with the government,” announced Prime Minister and Minister Finance, Dr the Hon Timothy Harris.
The Honourable Prime Minister, who is also the Area Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher Seven (Bellevue to Ottley’s), made the announcement on Saturday, October 16 at Bourryeau when he addressed a meeting hosted by the Peoples Labour Party (PLP) Constituency Number Seven Branch.
Dr Harris is the National Political Leader of the Peoples Labour Party, one of the three parties in the ruling Team Unity Administration. The other parties are the People’s Action Movement (PAM), and the Nevis-based Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM).
“The truth is the government cannot provide everybody with a home and so we have provided a variety of housing arrangements for civil servants,” said Prime Minister Harris. “They can go to the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, get a loan at the lowest mortgage rate, or close to, in an easy way.”
The government, the Honourable Prime Minister added, has continued arrangements for persons, any citizens who are building their first home to go to the Ministry of Finance and make an application to get exemption from duty on all the building materials.
The programme, known as the First Home Mortgage Programme, is open to any qualifying citizen who would therefore benefit by acquiring building materials free of duty. Noted Dr Harris: “That therefore will bring you significant savings. We are doing what we must do to help you and to help our country advance.”
Additionally, Prime Minister Harris said that the government is contemplating allocating out 15 homes in Mansion Village shortly. These were part of a promising of support from the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to support housing programmes after the hurricanes of 2017.
To further increase the country’s housing stock, before the year-end another housing project will commence in Cunningham, Cayon, with 45 homes in the first instance. He noted that it would be followed by another 45 homes in Constituency Number Seven, and in Sandy Point, advising that these projects will be undertaken by a private developer.