NHT rolls out services with Compliance Engagement at Nelson Mandela Park
THE NATIONAL Housing Trust (NHT) hosted its 365 Compliance Engagement and Mobilisation session yesterday, catering to the interest of almost 400 people before noon as it marked another successful expo, the third for the financial year.
The day’s activities ran from 8 a.m. through to 4 p.m. and saw persons lining up outside the gates of the Nelson Mandela Park in Half Way Tree before things got off the ground.
Somie Salmon-McKenzie, NHT compliance manager for Kingston and St Andrew, said that the initiative of taking the offices into a physical location is geared at reaching contributors and potential clients at a central location.
“To get information out there about the benefits of contributing to the NHT and doing checks to ensure that your contributions are being remitted and what you need to do to ensure that you can access other benefits from NHT including your loans,” Salmon-McKenzie told The Gleaner about the company’s outreach.
The organisers saw a steady flow of people engaging with the different sections on hand. There was the arm for self-employed and business support, NHT online support, community and construction, along with loan and benefits.
“This initiative is twofold because while we are here in the physical space having the expo, we have a team of compliance inspectors who are in and around the environment of the park going to employers, sole traders and bringing information, checking on their information and confirming what is going on with them; building connections so they can sign agreements and access their tax compliance certificates and so on,” Salmon-McKenzie said.
ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT
NHT said they pulled out a team of 18-plus personnel for active engagement, which began a month in advance.
The previous 365 Compliance expos were held in St Ann, and St James at Sam Sharpe Square.
The Kingston and St Andrew region includes the parishes of Portland and St Thomas and according to Salmon-McKenzie, “it’s the largest of the three expos and requires more personnel”.
She says based on the feedback, they may have to do more for the next financial year.
A NHT contributor Trudy-Ann Watson told The Gleaner that she was running some errands and saw the activities taking place, and decided to stop by.
“It serves well. I got the information I needed. I am interested in housing and so I stopped by. The process was smooth and professional. I got through in no time,” Watson told The Gleaner.
Other entities on hand included the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Companies Office of Jamaica, Development Bank of Jamaica, Heart/ NSTA Trust and Jamaica Business Development Corporation.