500 get new houses
THE prayers of 500 people were answered yesterday as their names were selected at a live random electronic lottery draw at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) South Quay head-offices in Port-of-Spain.
There was a tense atmosphere at the HDC as scores of persons assembled in the waiting area in anticipation of leaving the lottery draw event much more closer to owning their own home. As the draw took place, disappointment hung heavy amid the smiling faces of those selected.
The names, chosen from the Housing Ministry’s database, will also be published in the newspapers from this Sunday and the chosen persons would begin their processing next month.
Tears of joy flowed as Margaret Fleming saw her name appear on the huge flat screen television, signalling she had been selected for a house.
“I have been waiting for 40 years and I feel so happy. It is an over whelming sense of joy that comes from deep within…tears of joy as I know my God would not have failed me,” Fleming said as tears stained her face.
Addressing the gathering, Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said the occasion marks another milestone in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s mandate as they seek to carry out the policy of the Government in relation to housing through the provision of affordable shelter and associated community facilities for citizens of TT.
He said the 500 citizens were selected in accordance with the Cabinet-approved policy on government housing. He also noted those who were selected have been waiting for 15 years and more, for housing.
“In May 2010 I publicly announced the Government’s intention to place a particular focus on citizens who have been waiting for more than a decade to own a home through the Ministry of Housing’s allocation system,” Moonilal said.
He mentioned that some of the applicants were invited and have applied for the opportunity to become a homeowner, “even before that…certainly by any measure, a decade is quite a long time to wait for your chance of becoming a homeowner through the special housing programme.”
Moonilal explained that getting housing “right” would contribute to their purpose of sustainable economic growth to enable TT to flourish. “It would help us achieve the country’s full potential through better educational and employment opportunities, healthier lives and a more prosperous and equal society,” he said…READ MORE
I have apply for a new house in Union Hall San Fernando since 2001 and still waiting. My application Ref is 17671-OCJ-VBO. Please Help