Gated housing on horizon for Kingston Central
WITH POOR housing being a major developmental challenge in Kingston Central, firstterm Member of Parliament (MP) Donovan Williams has announced a major land-title drive and the courting of privatesector investors in developing the blighted constituency.
Williams said many residents are reluctant to improve dwellings for fear that people will turn up, claiming to be owners, resulting in loss of their investment.
“One of the factors I found working against improved housing is that many persons are not titled owners of properties, despite occupying these properties for many years in sole, undisturbed and uninterrupted possession and, in some cases, paying property taxes,” he said in his maiden presentation to the State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Williams reported that Tel-Aviv, Southside and Rose Gardens have been ordered a land administration management programme project area, under the Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) Act, which will facilitate the issuing of new titles and the upgrading of existing certificate of titles.
The MP said that an adjudication committee will be set up to hear applications for new titles and sensitisation clinics will be held to guide qualified residents in the process.
Further, he lobbied for the Constituency Development Fund committee to make allowances for MPs to arrange and finance periodic title clinics, where attorneys, at a subsidised rate, can advise residents on how to successfully navigate the process.
The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation has approved the construction of 12 housing units on Hanover Street, while the local government ministry will be funding two indigent homes in Southside.
“Real estate investors have also expressed serious interest in constructing housing solutions in Central Kingston and I am pleased to report that suitable lands have been identified and earmarked. The discussions and the negotiations are in its early stages but they are very promising,” Williams said.
He said that multi-storey gated housing was on the cards, with Kingston Harbour and Palisadoes providing the background for a “picturesque and breathtaking view”.
Since becoming MP in September 2020, Williams reported issuing approximately 200 housing assistance benefits.
Citing high unemployment as a challenge f acing many constituents, he has ordered the creation of a database with skills to be circulated to public and private agencies.
Fifty individuals f rom t he constituency are beneficiaries of the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment programme, while 35 will participate in three-month training in programming and information technology via the HEART/NSTA Trust.
Williams said the Kingston Harbour revetment project and the Kingston and St Andrew pipeline replacement project along Beeston and North streets have provided short-term employment for more than 100 residents.