» News » Blogs

I guess that was summer then! Well I suppose we can’t complain after a month of uninterrupted sunshine. In fact, the last time I remember being so hot, hot, hot was two years ago on a family house hunting trip to the sun drenched island of Jamaica.

New housing developments were much more in evidence on the island than the gangster stereotypes much beloved by the British press.

And the Minister of Water and Housing was, typically, eager to tell me about the progress his Government was making. I listened keenly hoping to learn something new.

Leaning forward from behind a large, highly polished desk and peering over his spectacles at the Junior Minister, the Right Honourable Donald Buchanan MP pointed out that the Housing Corporation’s - 1.3 billion annual budget was bigger than the island’s total public expenditure. Not surprising, I suppose, for a developing country of just 2.8 million. Then sinking back into a huge leather chair he politely dismissed his Junior Minister and looked towards me with a coy but friendly smile.

He was probably embarrassed. He hadn’t responded to my written request for a meeting only to have me catch up with him at the poolside of our hotel. I introduced myself. He apologized. We agreed to meet me the following day.

Glancing at the skyline through the window of his air conditioned, Kingston office I could easily have been somewhere in the UK. Only, the famous Blue Mountain range framing the view gave the location away.

I asked a few standard questions about the work of his Department trying to turn the monologue into a conversation never easy with politicians.

Buoyant local economies, shortage of skilled workers, unskilled arrivals converging on economic hotspots, chronic undersupply of affordable housing - it all sounded very familiar. But there were also stark contrasts.

“Squatter camps are a big problem for us’ the Minister complained. “They’re growing around the tourist areas. It’s difficult to meet the demand for housing quickly enough. I nodded knowingly. I had seen the squalor of the squatter camps just off the beaten track, home to the tourist industry workers.

I asked about the Harmony Cove Project and how the Department planned to meet the housing demand that would be created by this mammoth new North Coast tourist development. The land had been purchased from an unnamed member of the British aristocracy by the National Housing Trust - a cross between the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships. The Minister enthused that it was the largest such undertaking in Jamaican history. My question about affordable housing for service sector workers went unanswered.

I learned of the Ministry’s Joint Venture Partnership whereby the Department secures a slice of private sector profits to reinvest in water and housing. My ears pricked up. The idea had been raised more than once at Housing Corporation board meetings but the Jamaican’s, by sheer necessity, were ahead of the game.

Smiling mischievously he told me about the stir he had caused in Parliament by announcing the intention to provide free land, to people of no income. And there was Operation Pride, a new initiative to encourage long standing squatters into legitimate ownership by allowing them to purchase the land they occupied at a discount. Despite widespread reservations, Operation Pride was proving a success, with squatters lining up to purchase land.

I asked if he enjoyed his job. “Yes, yes he said swivelling sideways in his big chair, stretching out his legs, placing his fingertips together in a contemplative manner and gazing through the window. “But I used to be in the Ministry of Labour, that’s my real passion. I got a phone call telling me I was being moved to the Ministry of Water and Housing. The previous Minister, shall we say, exceeded his powers and had to be moved.

Gathering himself he looked down at a sheet of paper on his desk and rehearsed, “Between 1991-2001 the average number of persons per dwelling living in Tivoli Gardens had been reduced from 4.7 to 4. In Denham Town the figure went down from 3.4 to 3. In Manley Meadows the figure moved from 12 down to 2.8 when we removed a squatter camp and built a large new development.” He closely scanned the brief before concluding, “The total number of units provided over the past ten years is 137,900.

The quoting of statistics, budgets and targets was all too familiar and in no shortage during our meeting. But behind the rhetoric, there was no denying that Jamaica was making progress. The country had moved from a rank of 20th in the 2002 Human Development Index to 14th in 2004.

Mr Buchanan proudly talked up his Department’s contribution to the country’s improved status before glancing down at his watch. It was time to leave.

As I exited the comfortably cool building into the baking midday heat I had to agree that fundamentally, there really is nothing new, even under a hot Caribbean sun.

To comment on this column contact Yvonne direct at yvonne@communitychameleon.co.uk or email us at news@24dash.com.