The Honourable Minister for Housing, Reginald Austrie, has announced that displaced families from the Colihaut Constituency will be able to move into their new homes by October 2016.
fter the passage of, what was called, one of the most destructive natural occurrence in Dominica’s history, Tropical Storm Erika, some residents of Colihaut, Coulibistrie, Dublanc and Bioche were forced out of their homes.
According to the Honourable Prime Minister, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, construction of an additional six petro casas has begun in the Colihaut Constituency.
Government is also partnering with the Seventh Day Adventist Church through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), in the construction of houses on that site.
Work on six houses is on-going and three of them are already well advanced and it is expected that over time an additional 19 will be constructed.
The Honourable Housing Minister gave an update on the project.
“In Plat Ma Pierre the petro casas there, Madam Speaker, half of them have been covered and it was done in three months. If you pass, Madam Speaker, you will see the petro casas are covered and I have been reassured that by September or October, before independence the residents of Colihaut, Coulibistrie and Dublanc who were affected by Erika will be resettled in their new homes, Madam Speaker. And the Adventist people, Madam Speaker, they have already painted, the windows are [mounted] up… and we have offered as the Government some support and assistance to them because we understand the difficult challenges that they are having to make a commitment to the Government. We are prepared to partner with them because it cannot just be left to the Seventh Days people to do the houses, it is for us they are building it and it is for our people they are building it. And it does not matter if they promised to build nine, Madam Speaker, and we can help we have to help.”
The Minister expressed his commitment to assisting in the process.
In addition to the resettlement of those communities, the Government will continue simultaneously, to pursue its housing revolution, to include the construction of new houses, elimination of pit latrines, home repair and renovation across the country and government will assist in the relocation of people currently residing in vulnerable areas.
“We have more challenged communities, Madam Speaker, we have Campbell, Pichelin, and Paradise Valley in Bath Estate so we have a lot of work to do, Madam Speaker. The Government is well on its way to ensuring that we can have a better society, building back better and stronger for the people of Dominica.”
The Ministry of Housing and Water Resource Management has been allocated 10.3% of the capital budget in the amount of $32.4m.
That amount reflects on-going rehabilitation and resettlement efforts by the Government and Government’s firm policy and commitment to improving the quality of housing and sanitation in Dominica.
[File photo: January 21st 2016]