924 container houses available, as Gov’t advances response for hurricane victims

Speaking during a tour of model container units at the ODPEM’s storage compound in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine yesterday, minister with responsibility for Land Titling and Settlements Robert Montague, detailed the scale of the operation, citing the arrival of hundreds of temporary housing units and support from local and international partners.

“We have several solutions here. We have containerised solutions which were bought by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development. We have another unit kindly donated by the government and people of China, and then we have some wooden units that will be done by the Red Cross… 300 of those,” the minister said.

A total of 924 containerised units are now on the island, with stockpiles secured in Spanish Town, Luana in St. Elizabeth and Montpelier under Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) supervision.

Minister Montague said early estimates suggested nearly 12,000 families were severely impacted by the hurricane, but extensive reviews by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and municipal authorities significantly reduced that number.

“They found when they checked the data, that there was some amount of duplication, where more than one person out of a family, out of a housing unit, made a report. It is not necessarily fraud, it’s just that persons were just making reports, so when they cleaned the data and minus those duplications and minus those who had rebuilt, we are down to approximately 2,500.  So, we have sufficient units and even out of that, there are reports that some persons had received assistance from other NGO’s and are rebuilding”, the minister noted.

Minister Montague stressed that relocation efforts are being guided by strict environmental and safety considerations under direct instructions from the Prime Minister.

The rollout, he said, has faced setbacks, including environmental concerns over housing base preparations, forcing temporary stoppages and redesigns to meet regulatory standards.  Shipping delays linked to the Chinese New Year and transportation challenges involving the collapsible units also slowed deployment.

“The units also took a little while to get to Jamaica because we ran into the Chinese New Year situation, so shipping was restricted. Once shipping resumed, we faced limitations of crate space and logistics challenges, but we have overcome those.”

To speed up delivery, the government will now provide grants directly to beneficiaries and communities to construct housing bases, subject to inspection and approval by municipal authorities. Some of the funds held by ODPEM for the Hurricane Melissa relief efforts are earmarked and will be drawn down shortly.
 
The National Housing Trust (NHT) will also procure two tractor heads equipped with lifting arms to assist in deploying the specialised units.

While acknowledging public frustration over delays, Minister Montague defended the pace of the programme, insisting the government would not bypass legal or environmental safeguards.

“We are very pleased with the programme so far, although a little disappointed that we were not able to move faster. But we still have to observe and abide by the laws of the land and the regulations. As much as we try to speed it up, it is better that we get it right and get it right once,” he asserted.

Minister Montague also confirmed that a portion of the units will remain in reserve to strengthen Jamaica’s long-term disaster response capacity, stating that “it is all about future planning”.