Friday March 12th, 2010
- Last update:7 hours 21 min ago
Dreams come true…
Families receive keys to new Oropune homes
Published: 19 Aug 2009
Emily Dick-Forde, Minister of Planning, Housing and the Environment hands over the keys to new home owners Sheldon Prince, Nicole Prince and their son Jahdai. Photo: Marcus Gonzales
Sixteen people had their dreams of owning a home realised yesterday when the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) handed over the keys to new home owners at Oropune Gardens, Piarco. The ceremony marked the start of occupation of Phase four of the HDC’s housing development project. Although 218 housing units, which started in January, 2007, have been completed, Emily Dick-Forde, Minister of Planning, Housing and the Environment said the remaining 202 owners were completing the necessary processes with the T&T Mortgage Finance and the HDC before they could be given the keys to their new homes.
She said a secondary school, a community centre and a nursery school were also expected to be constructed in the area. The minister said over the next three weeks, hundreds of citizens were expected to be handed keys to their new homes, as major projects were underway in Tunapuna, San Juan and Chaguanas. She said Government had been working assiduously to ensure that 7,700 new homes were built before the end of the year: “By October, we hope to complete a significant number of these houses.”
Dick-Forde said providing affordable housing to citizens of T&T remained on Government’s front burner: “In some regions of the world, that is not so, especially in light of the global financial crisis. Many countries have no social agency to provide housing to those most in need.” A Social Housing Policy, she said, was soon to come on stream to remove homeless persons from the streets:
“We have quite a number of persons who have transitioned from being homeless to some of the facilities that the social development ministry has and they have found jobs for them. They are now ready to go on their own. In order for them to do that, we have to provide them with rental accomodation.” Also present was HDC’s acting managing director Louis Nurse who encouraged the new home owners to work together with the corporation for the maintenance of the new housing development.
Break down
The site comprises:
• 150 acres vested in Udecott by Caroni Limited.
• 150 units constructed in phase 1a for the relocation of persons for accommodation of the expansion of the Piarco Airport Terminal.
• The phase 1b was for the construction of an additional 53 units.
• The total area of phases 1a and 1b comprised 46 acres.
• The remaining 104 acres were transferred to the HDC for the construction of housing units.
Contracts awarded to:
• International Engineering Consortium Limited (IEC) in the sum of $431, 579,136 for the construction of 128 apartment units.
• West Atlantic Construction Limited, (WACL) in the sum of $158,043,381.85 for the construction of 256 townhouses and 216 apartment units (472 units).
• NH International (Caribbean) Limited was awarded a contract in the sum of $156, 212,539 for the construction of 294 townhouses and 280 apartments units (574 units).
something is wrong with the
something is wrong with the math. iec is building apts for $3,371,712 each on avg, while nh intl and wacl are building units costing under $350,000 on avg.
iec is definitely not building affordable housing. it looks like we are underwriting luxury housing for the privileged.
definitely..something is
definitely..something is wrong with the figure...
...just in time for the snap
...just in time for the snap election call....
At the risk of being accused
At the risk of being accused of being an ethnic cleanser, I wonder how many East Indians, besides the original Oropune villagers, received homes there?
http://dsaltsman.blogspot.com/
When will we stop all this
When will we stop all this foolish talk about race? Everything that moves in this country, the race card must be pulled. The question is not how many East Indians are getting homes, but rather how many hardworking, deserving citizens of this diverse society will be getting houses. Over 200 families will be occupying these homes and that's that. Whether Indian, African, Chinese or whoever, they are citizens of this beautiful land who are entitled to own a home. Let's stop the race talk nonsense and see people for who they are.
It is easy for you to say
It is easy for you to say such foolishness that hard working, deserving citizens are getting homes. Tell me if out of a total of 100 percent homes build and the Indians receive only 2 percent are you saying the Indians are not hard working citizens. Those people who are receiving free houses are the one jumping behind the big trucks and looking to go to every carnival feat. They will spend their last penny to party and yet you are saying they are hard working and deserve to receive free houses. Drive to the country side and see how some of these Indian families are living without electricity, without water etc. why can they receive houses like other race do. I don't blame you for writing comments like this, you have the right just like I do, however I blame those token Indians in the PNM who cannot speak up for equal rights. Every dog has it's day, believe me God do not see evil.
I'm no rocket scientist or
I'm no rocket scientist or accountant, but doing the maths on the figures supplied by the Ministry suggests that something is definitely wrong.
Tell me folks which country
Tell me folks which country in the world build homes for it's citizens and for free. Why can these people who are receiving keys to their new homes work and save to buy a house like other citizens. Manning is giving homes to his supporters from Laventille and Jon Jon in good neighbourhood to win election and spread crimes. How many TriniIndians receive homes here. None of course.
The Indian supporters of the PNM is afraid to speak up and demand fair justice. A bunch of cowards and as the spanish says no cohones, no balls. Why can they show a picture of an Indian family receiving keys for a house, because no Indian is qualify. This houseing scheme was not implemented to help Indians.
I agree fully with Persad!!!
I agree fully with Persad!!! Williams did it in his heyday!! Gerrymandering of the boundaries & relocating Laventille residents to the new marginal boundaries!!! Manning doing the same thing! Indians don't get homes! They continue to live in shacks frequently flooded during the rainy season!Handouts are given to Afros just like CECEP & URP & the "community Leaders"
Ethnic cleansing is a terminology that is forever evolving--there's no one definition--when one tribe victimizes another(discrimination)we have a scenario for ethnic cleansing!!!! The pnm shall prevail as we have Panday striving for power to hand over to his dynasty!Manning wants to instil rascism for his survival but many pnm supporters are fed up with the crime,lack of medical care,poor policing,increased food prices caused by lack of supporting agriculture etc the list is endless! Most people would support a change as espoused by Jack Warner!
...race talk will continue
...race talk will continue as long as the blatant discrimination continues....plain talk, bad manners....
The race talk must continue
The race talk must continue as long as the one way migratory pattern continues through the Government's Housing development programme. Don't people find this one way movement of Afro-Trinidadian citizens into areas traditionally occupied by Indo-Trinidadians strange? Why does the HDC's housing programme not allow a reciprocal/corresponding movement of Indo-Trinidadians into areas traditionally occupied by Afro-Trinidadians? Obviously the intention is to dilute the Indo-Trinidadian presence in those areas. And worse will come when that proposed political union with other Afro-dominated Caribbean States becomes reality.The Indo-Trinidadian vote will become a minority one in this country by the time Manning gets his way.
As for spreading crime that also is undeniable. Mere observation will tell you that the dramatic increase in crime in Arima and its environs coincided with the establishment of the La Horquetta and Maloney communiities and it is known that the residents of these communities originally hailed mainly from the Laventille/Morvant areas.
Persad, whosoever gets a
Persad, whosoever gets a house in Oropune, they are not getting it free... they have to take a mortgage from TTMF. The article says the remaining 202 applicants are completing the processes with TTMF and HDC.
So it doesn't matter if they choose to jump up behind a big truck, and go to every carnival fete.... or they choose to sit in the rumshop and drink or go by Caura river and cook curry duck and drink rum till they die, everybody has to qualify for a mortgage...
And TTMF don't make joke with mortgages, if yuh doh pay, they take back yuh house.... ask the people who used to live Santa Rosa....
STOP THE RACE TALK PLEASE
funny how only AfroTrinis
funny how only AfroTrinis qualify.
As i read these comments i
As i read these comments i am heartened by the fact that we are still interested in the happenings in the country and are willing to make our opinions public, on which ever side of the argument that we lie. My problem, though is when we use blanket comments that are lacking in truthfulness, and are used simply to highlight our opinion.....
FACT- Housing is a major means of shifting political power, it is and has been used by all governments here and elsewhere
FACT- Houses are not given away as suggested by a previous post. Keys are given to persons who qualify for mortgages with TTMF.
FACT- I personally know a number of TRINIDADIANS of East Indian decent who are in the process of collecting their keys for the said area.(I know...... there are more persons of African decent collecting..... I expected that reply)
FACT- the more we cast blame for everything on race, the more we divide our lovely twin island republic that has made considerable moves to get away from this type of thinking. By continually bringing it up you serve two purposes. 1) shift focus from the real problem (the incompetence of the persons who WE have put in charge of our affairs,)and 2) contribute to the worsening race relation in the country, that would only serve to strengthen the politician's ability to divide us by race, thus holding on to power.
Just as we use this forum to offer our opinions, I would like to start seeing some posts where we encourage each other to look past (not ignore) our differences, and realize, each time we leave the argument at " the politicians dividing the country by race", we play right into their hands. We must go further, and show them, that no matter what ethnic background we belong to, we demand that we be properly represented. And when they come with their racial undertones, we stop them and let them know, "WE ARE TRINIDADIANS", and we demand proper representation.................. T&T Still A Paradise
FACT- You MR/MS Wonker33 are
FACT- You MR/MS Wonker33 are talking a whole load of crap, some of these people who get houses are not even working( don't ask how I know)and people who are working and are of Indian decent can't get a house.
Case in point, my friend applied for a house 15yrs ago, he is a teacher and has been teaching for 22yrs now, reapplied every 2yrs after,bought land, applied for and recieved a TTMF mortage, has built a mansion and he still has not gotten an HDC house...I wonder why, hmmmmm?
It is people like you who think that if people of Indian decent and the few people who support them stays quiet then there will be no talk of race so that would mean that there is no racism in T&T...ent.
A brief synopsis of my
A brief synopsis of my encounter with the NHA/HDC.....applied in 1995, reapplied every 2 years thereafter as advised...assessed by the TTMF THRICE in ONE year, during which my salary never changed... was invited to a keys ceremony at Mt. Hope, never received a key....was placed in "infill',....recently told that my place at Mt. Hope was inadvertently given to someone else....was advised to return in one month for an "infill" house in Malabar, a location I NEVER applied for....HDC has only caused me heartache...when will it end?
Re: Families receive keys to
Re: Families receive keys to new Oropune homes
THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO DO FOR THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY CANNOT DO FOR THEMSELVES!!!!
For example, the government should provide national security, foreign policy, highway construction, etc.
The government should NOT be involved in building houses. The government should encourage and facilitate businesses so they can employ people. The people can then work and use their salary to build or purchase houses, which they can do for themselves!!!!!
Great logic Mr Logic, but
Great logic Mr Logic, but why should I get an education, get a job, save my money and build or buy a house when I can get one for free without doing any of the hard work.
Can somebody enlighten me as
Can somebody enlighten me as to how much does it cost a family to own one of these houses because according to my math, dem have to have real high paying salary and a lot of money saved to get that loan from TTMF.
Has anybody ever seen a picture of an Indo-Trini family recieving keys to one of these houses, if so please tell me where I can go to see that picture. Thanks