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dandan28 · 8 years

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G.R.O.W (Generating Revenue from Our Work)

Mr Speaker, it is indeed my pleasure and a quite distinguished privilege to rise in this Honourable House to make this presentation. At the outset, I want to thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he who saw not what I was but what I could be. I want to thank the Comrade Leader and Leader of The Opposition for her continued people-centred approach to leadership and for having the requisite confidence in me to give oversight responsibilities for the Ministry of Agriculture. I must extend my gratitude to MP Victor Wright, deputy spokesperson on Agriculture, who has a wealth of expertise in the area and who is focused on lifting the lives of people. My gratitude to my family cannot be overstated and I want to make special mention to the newest member of the family, my bundle of joy, Princess Madison. To my councillors, the constituency executive, workers, supporters and well-wishers I thank you, you are the reason I am standing here today in service of my fellow citizens. In February as the wave of change rushed to the political shores you never vacillated, indeed you did not gamble you stuck with Campbell.

St Ann North Western

Mr Speaker, in St. Ann North Western we have been carrying out our community consultations in an effort to create the development plan for the next four (4) years and beyond. We believe that listening is the most important aspect of leadership, we are well aware of the fact that we, as leaders, do not have custody of all the solutions thus we have sought to get the ideas and opinions of the people. The Social Development Commission has also done some noteworthy work in this regard and it is our intention for our data to dovetail into theirs as we seek to build stronger communities and empower people to become self-reliant. To this end we have developed a framework that will see us focusing on:

1) Poverty Alleviation and Prevention

2) Economic enablement

3) Infrastructure

4) Employment

5) Health care

6) Education

7) Youth and community development

I will give more details on these focus areas at the constituency debates later this year.

Agriculture

Mr Speaker as I rise to make my first contribution to the Sectoral Debate in my capacity as the Spokesperson on Agriculture and Fisheries; it is my responsibility to share with you in brief, based on the time constraints my vision for agriculture. Firstly, we must note that the sector is a fundamental pillar to economic development and propriety for not only the farmers and the rural population, but for all our people. The sector employs approximately 200,000 persons representing close to 20 per cent of the labour force, contributing 6 -7 per cent towards our GDP. The sector is an important pillar to integrated rural development and it is the mission of ours to work with all stakeholders, the JAS , RADA , the 4H Club, farmers and all agencies to develop and expand the sector. I would wish to applaud the JAS for the celebration of their 120th Anniversary, the 4H Movement for their 75th and RADA for their 25th. All these organization close their one-year celebration recently and I applaud them, their leadership and members. For example, Mr Speaker the 4 H clubites grew from 65,000 in 2012 to 103,000 in 2016. I would also like to congratulate the JAS and the Ministry for the upcoming Denbigh Agricultural Show, the 64th staging, which is set for July 30th to August 1st and will aim to attract over 50,000 patrons.

Many have asked, how does Dr Campbell, a medical doctor, fit here? Well sir, medicine teaches us to first take a detailed history of the situation then examine it thoroughly after which we investigate and come to a diagnosis this is then followed by treatment, it is this teaching that has caused me to seek to understand before seeking to be understood. I will be applying this discipline to the oversight of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Youth in Agriculture

Mr Speaker, we need Jamaica’s best and brightest to embrace agriculture as a calling and career.

I am of the firm belief that laws should be enacted to address problems that we are confronted with. Agriculture is the greatest employer of labour in the country, employing over 220,000 small farmers. It is a fact, though, that our young people are not attracted to the discipline as we would want or expect. We have to inculcate in their minds the importance of agriculture as a viable means of lifting them from abject poverty and establish that there is honour in hard work. We have too many of our young people who are unemployed or underemployed, it is clear in my mind that this is a recipe for future disaster and agriculture is the antidote. What do I suggest then, Mr Speaker? Well ,a few things , I believe we should make agriculture a mandatory subject in schools up to the CSEC level, we should ensure that tertiary facilities expand their offerings and market these programs so that more persons are aware of the potential lucrative careers agriculture offers. We must continue to support young people who choose agriculture as done through the agro-investment cooperation in providing arable parcels of land to young persons and support them in establishing a career in agriculture. The continued support of the 4-H movement is critical, agriculture is a career and can be a very lucrative business, it is not just about tilling the soil. The current average age of the Jamaican farmer is 37 years, coming down from a high of 57.5 years in 2006 (RADA 2006). The data also revealed that farmers between 16 and 25 only represented 3.2%. The main reasons for not wanting to pursue a career in agriculture included:

1) The perception that agriculture provided low financial returns

2) It consisted of intense manual work (with limited benefits)

3) Involved limited /no application of technology

4) The perception that their peers would not be in favour of them pursuing careers in agriculture

Mr Speaker, by engaging our best and brightest youth in farming we can G.R.O.W, GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Farm Roads

Mr Speaker, one of the greatest inhibitors to growth in the field of agriculture is the lack of access to farms; this knowledge instructed the previous administration to approve over 500 million up to February to benefit 11,500 farmers directly under the National Farm Road Rehabilitation Program. Mr Speaker, if we are to seriously get more small farmers producing we have to ensure that they can get to their farms with easier access and get their produce from the farms to the markets. TVJ news recently highlighted the plight of farmers in Portland, I am therefore encouraging the current administration to continue to have a sharpened acuity on this area and move with haste to increase access.

Rural Infrastructure

Mr Speaker it is important for us to give sufficient attention to the development of rural infrastructure, the obfuscation surrounding the highway from Harbour View to St. Thomas is of major concern. It is a very narrow minded approach to say it does not make economic sense, just think of the income from Blue Mt. coffee, the two agro-parks and plan to establish more agro-parks in that end of the island. Mr Speaker, as a member from a rural area, like myself, I am sure you are concerned with this stance. The Leader of the Opposition in her presentation said that “the road to development is the development of roads”, the finance minister needs to stop and think of the tremendous contribution made to the country’s GDP by agriculture and how that would be greatly enhanced by developing the rural infrastructure in the country.

Consider for a second, the impact of Blue Mountain Coffee on the economy:

1. Estimated total value of US $50 Million, St. Thomas produces 25% of this total value

2. 200 thousand boxes were produced. Note that Blue Mountain Coffee prices to farmers have increased under the PNP, from a low of $2,500 under the JLP to $12,000 per box under the PNP and more farmers are now planting blue mountain coffee.

3. An additional 1000 acres of new planting is now in progress across three parishes St Andrew,St Thomas and Portland.

4. The plan is to increase production next year to 230 thousand boxes and to 400 thousand boxes over the next three years

Now let us turn our attention to the Yallahs and Planting Garden River PGR Agro-Parks:

Yallahs Agro- Parks

1. 500 acres 37 farmers

2. 40% now under production

3. Last year 107 tonnes of onions were produced in this park

PGR Agro-Park

1. 290 acres 57 farmers

2. 78 acres under production

3. 2015 65,000lbs of Pumpkins and 50,000lbs of onions was reaped.

MR SPEAKER, in developing rural infrastructure we can G.R.O.W, GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Irrigation

Mr Speaker, another cry of the farmers of this land, the land of wood and water ,is for proper irrigation systems. The previous administration had proposed the following for 2015/16:

1) Complete the infrastructure works (including irrigation systems) in progress at the Spring Vale/Ebony Park, Yallahs, New Forest, Duff House, and Myersfield Agro Parks, to the tune of $418M JMD.

2) Construction of a brand new water supply system in Hill Run, St. Catherine.

3) Extension of the Hounslow irrigation system in St. Elizabeth with the view of making a new agro park there.

4) Installation of an irrigation system at Spring Ground, St. Elizabeth to engage over 200 acres of land in a new agro park.

Also, additional projects were being done to assist other farmers. The black tank project, was one such which was far reaching, and efforts should be made to continue that program.

I am pleased to learn that the Government of Jamaica will be pushing along with Caribbean Development Bank to implement the Essex Valley Irrigation System in South St. Elizabeth. The twelve water-harvesting systems for St. Thomas, St. Mary, St. Ann, Trelawny, Manchester and Clarendon will go a far way in solving some of the issues especially in light of the climate change phenomenon.

There is cause for concern about the moving of National Irrigation Commission from the Ministry of Agriculture to the National Water Commission, which is already struggling and is probably the most inefficient service provider in the Government.

MR SPEAKER, in expanding irrigation we can G.R.O.W, GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Climate Sensitive

Mr Speaker, we must establish climate resilient agriculture policies and strategies on the background of research and development to promote climate smart agricultural techniques consistent with the National Food and Nutrition Security and climate change policies. We are well familiar with the vagaries of weather; it is therefore beholden on us to plan properly to prevent a future crisis. Droughts presents major threat to both food and water security. The vast majority of Jamaica’s farming systems are open field and rain-fed, thus the agriculture sector stands to take a major hit from droughts. The Bodles Research Station, therefore, should be upgraded to do the necessary research. The Ministry has a critical role to play re: public education and mitigating against the impact through the Climate Change Adaptation Programme.

Consider the effects of some extreme events below:

MR SPEAKER, by establishing climate resilient agriculture policies and strategies we can G.R.O.W, GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Praedial larceny

Mr Speaker, the solution to this scourge remains one of the most pressing issues, this solution has remained elusive for a prolonged period, the previous Minister of Agriculture and National Security ought to be commended for having the JCF leading the anti-praedial larceny charge. Those who seek to reap where they have not planted should feel the full force of the law, we have to ensure that there is quick response from the police when these dastardly acts are reported and that those perpetrators that are accosted are prosecuted, a critical component of this fight lies in the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS). Citizens and corporations must also play their role in ensuring that as far as they are aware they do not support those who pillage the farmers produce.

MR SPEAKER, in preventing praedial larceny we can G.R.O.W GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Agro-parks

The mission of the last administration was to place agriculture on a sustainable path of growth through the expansion of the Agro-Park Development Programme Export Initiative. The agro-park concept has played a central role in restructuring the sector; the agro-parks have addressed some of the structural challenges of the sector. It has reduced the incidence of a myriad of small farmers operating on small plots of land, largely marginal, producing on a subsistence basis and unconnected to the market this practice prevented any significant infusion of technology to lift production and productivity levels and ensure consistency, which are critical to sustainable agriculture. Mr Speaker, let us give kudos to the former Minister of Agriculture who established nine (9) agro-parks through a mix of public investments, public-private partnerships and in every instance connecting farmers with markets. The food import bill decreased by 15% in 2015 that is a savings of 10.5 billion over 2014 due to increase production, we must get the existing agro-parks to full production capacity through completion of the infrastructure works and then move to establish new agro-parks.

Irish potatoes- we achieved 90% self-sufficiency

Onion development program has moved from 7% of market in 2013 to 12.6% in 2015

These were achieved despite the drought.

Mr Speaker, from the agro-parks we can G.R.O.W GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Value Added

Mr Speaker, as much as agriculture now contributes to the nations GDP it can do more, this is possible by us going further along the value chain. We have so many crops that during season there is a glut on the market and the majority goes to waste, a simple example is mangoes, I believe we will create thousands of jobs by investing in the appropriate research and promotion of these opportunities, we must no doubt eat what we grow and grow what we eat, but we need not stop there we must export and process the rest. The further along the value chain you go is the more income one will generate.

MR SPEAKER, in agro-processing we can G.R.O.W GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Tourism Linkages

Mr Speaker, this day and age requires that we employ an approach that is evidence-based and data-driven, it is in this vein that I want to commend the former Minister of Tourism for the Tourism Demand Study. This enables us to determine and quantify the existing and potential demand for goods and services across the Agricultural Sector, the highest demand was for fruits, where it was seen that hotels purchase in excess of 500,000 pounds per month. Mr Speaker, I will not go into details with each area, suffice it to say that, we must use this information to instruct our farmers as to what to grow knowing that there is a market readily available for their produce.

MR SPEAKER, in making the linkages in tourism we can G.R.O.W, GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

School Feeding

Mr Speaker, there is no good reason why we should not be able to have more of our schools participate in producing some of the produce for the different school feeding programs. We need to get more green houses in schools and greater participation in having community members supplying farm produce, the former Minister of Education was passionate about this and I agree with him fully, the value of education cannot be overstated and proper nutrition is a most critical component in the process.

Adapting to new technology

Mr Speaker, of the approximately 1.1 million hectares of land in this country, only 271,600 or 25% is classified as arable. We have lost significant amount of this land to housing and other commercial activities, Mr Speaker, we must stop giving up good agricultural land to housing, especially given the reality of climate change. In Jamaica, we have tended to do this the wrong way in this regard as we live on the flat and plant in the hills, the correct approach would be to plant on flat and live in hills, on the flat we would be able to have large green houses growing the crops that we have a competitive advantage in e.g. ginger, just imagine several 500m or more green houses along these plains producing our turmeric and ginger which has an international market waiting. We must get our farmers to realize that technology is their friend and they can be better off by working smarter and not necessarily harder.

MR SPEAKER, in adapting to newer technology we can G.R.O.W GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Back yard farming

Mr Speaker, we must secure farming produce for our households. The mandate is to promote agriculture to improve the family’s quality of life, reduce poverty and sustain its reduction, encourage self-reliance within the family and promote family health and wealth. Menu planning is about budgeting, saving time and optimizing nutrition. Where shopping at home first (checking the cupboards and refrigerator) coupled with the crops reaped from the micro farms will be encouraged. Further, this will translate into Jamaicans being cultured in a realistic way to live the ‘Grow What We Eat, Eat What We Grow’ campaign of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS).

The organic waste generated by the kitchen and other places in and around the home can be composted. The compost can be used as a soil amendment to improve fertility, texture and water holding capacity of the farms and/or container gardens in more developed areas. Container Gardening is the use of recycled inexpensive containers filled with suitable soil mix to cultivate crops or flowers in a controlled environment, this is not new technology. The legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is one of the finest such examples from recorded history.

In an effort to counteract the effect of rising food costs, our aim must be at assisting householders to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs in small spaces. By simply growing two cycles of tomato, cucumber, sweet pepper and Pak Choi, the average household would save approximately $12,000 annually.

Improving the life skill set of Jamaicans through agriculture will stimulate and sustain an economic transition from over-consumption of foreign goods to local production and consumption.

We must also aim to stimulate and sustain a novel personal habit in micro-agricultural production with the benefit of greater self-reliance and amelioration from economic strain.

MR SPEAKER, In Back Yard Farming we can G.R.O.W, GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Sugar

Mr Speaker the sugar industry, which has been around for over 300 years, is today facing its greatest challenge. You will recall that between 2009 and 2010 the Government of Jamaica divested its holdings in the sugar industry, namely the Monymusk, Frome, Bernard Lodge, Trelawny and St. Thomas Estates, which constitutes 70% of the industry. The divestment had some questionable conditions but not withstanding the period thereafter saw farmers and factory owners getting some of the greatest returns; it was incumbent on the proprietors to rehabilitate the factories and diversify the products and seek new markets. Mr Speaker, 2014 we saw a 20.4% increase in sugar production supported by 27% expansion in sugar cane cultivation. This year has seen a 30% decrease in the prices and has thus set the industry into a declension with various operators indicating an inability to continue operation, without attempting to go back into direct management of the industry the previous administration made an allocation of $213 million to assist the farmers of Trelawny with transportation cost to Appleton and Worthy Park, Appleton has since had legal challenges and we wish them well, this allocation was to assist with moving over 116,000 tonnes of cane, this allocation that was made by the former administration has since been used to restart operations at Long Pond.

Mr Speaker, problems are also looming for Pan Caribbean Sugar Company at Monymusk and recently we learnt of the decrease at Frome of over 27,507 tonnes its lowest output in more than 100 years, Sugar Company of Jamaica has signalled its intention to manage over 2,800 hectares of cane until the end of 2016 crop year, we have not heard of any allocation that will be made.

Mr speaker, with the myriad of problems the only shining light is the approach been pursued by Golden Grove Sugar Company, they have outsourced the field operations and secured a marketing agency agreement from the Sugar Industry Authority (SIA) to package and market their sugar in the retail trade in the Caribbean. This seems to be a model worthy of emulation. Mr Speaker, a significant development took place in the sugar industry with the installation of cogeneration capacity at Frome and at Monymusk and the Minister in his presentation reported that Frome has finalized Power Purchase Agreements with the Jamaica Public Service Company. Mr Speaker, cogeneration is significant because the future of sugar and indeed, its survival lie in significant reduction in the cost of production, facilitated by lower energy costs and the capacity to earn additional revenues from the sale of energy to the grid. Mr Speaker, the further growth of the industry will only be realized if we explore the full versatility of the sugar cane in terms of the multiple by-products.

Mr Speaker, we in the last administration pressed on with the social transformation of the sector, completing houses, schools, clinics, roads, community centers, water supply systems, sporting facilities, training of young persons.

Livestock

Mr Speaker, we were able in the last administration, to reduce Jamaica’s food imports by more than US$300M, that only represents a start. Almost 50% of the current import bill is from importation of meat, dairy products, grains for feed, fish and fish products. Mr Speaker, for the four years of the previous administration we did not import any pork legs for making hams and last year recorded poultry production of 112 Million kgs. We must not allow wanton import to derail this process. A total re-organisation of the often-abused system of licences and tariffs, which in many instances stifles agricultural production, is necessary. Mr Speaker, we import on an annual basis 73.4 billion worth of meat. Mr Speaker, if you look at Burundi they have a revolving livestock scheme, poor farmers who do not have livestock but have enough land to keep an animal are eligible for the scheme. They sign a contract in which they agree to give back the first female calf born to the heifer they receive, after which they become the owner of the cow. Poorer farmers get smaller animals that are less expensive to care for. Farmers have to prepare to host the animal which could be heifer, goat, pigs, the manure is used to fertilize the soil since fertilizer is costly. Mr Speaker, this program has caused agriculture production to increase by 2 to 5 times. Technical assistance and training comes from the ministry of agriculture and supported by community groups, this program is critical where there is no access to credit.

Mr Speaker, this program can work here in Jamaica with support from RADA, I am going to lead this charge in St. Ann North Western with cows, goats and pigs. This in my mind will serve as a means of economic enablement to our people.

MR SPEAKER, IN LIVESTOCK we G.R.O.W GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Fisheries

Mr Speaker, over 14 fish sanctuaries were established over last few years which saw significant improvements in the size and catch of fish, there was also a 40-pond acre expansion in the Hill Run Agro-Park. We are encouraging the government to protect the gains and continue to expand the opportunities as we move to sure up our food security.

MR SPEAKER, In fisheries we can G.R.O.W GENERATE REVENUE FROM OUR WORK.

Conclusion

Mr Speaker, I am convinced that we will not be able to address poverty unless we have a new deal for the farmers of this country and a new view of the discipline of agriculture. Poverty can be defeated if we grow by generating revenue from our work

Mr Speaker, Agriculture represents the single most significant sectoral employer of labour, we as a country can grow by generating revenue from our work

Mr Speaker, we must strive to involve more young persons in the discipline in order to break the strong holds of poverty, young people can G.R.O.W, Generate revenue from our work

Mr Speaker, we must increase competitive access to productive land in a fair and transparent manner for Jamaican producers, if people can access their farms, they can G.R.O.W, Generate revenue from our work

Mr Speaker, we must prioritize rural infrastructure so our people can have increase access and markets in an attempt to G.R.O.W, Generate revenue from our work

Mr Speaker, we must expand our involvement in irrigation, adopt to newer technology, practice climate smart agriculture if we are to G.R.O.W, Generate revenue from our work

Mr Speaker, we must expand our agro-parks, explore by-products from our crops if we are to G.R.O.W, Generate revenue from our work

Mr Speaker, we can GROW, WE CAN generate revenues from our work, growth is not some farfetched concept, GROWTH IS WITHIN OUR REACH.

GOD BLESS YOU AND God bless Jamaica land we love.

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dandan28 · 8 years

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Announcements For OPTICS More Than OUTCOMES (cc: @jamaicagleaner @jamaicaobserver @televisionjam @cvmtv)

In his budget presentation, Prime Minister The Honourable Andrew Holness made a grand announcement of a National Housing Trust (NHT) interest rate reduction from 2% to 0% for persons earning between $7500 and $12,000 per week. He announced to much applause that these individuals would now be able to borrow $4.89 million individually or jointly $9.8 million to two borrowers.

I, too, initially joined in with the applause, congratulating Mr. Holness for taking this step and also congratulating Dr. Peter Phillips and his team for making it possible. I congratulated Dr. Phillips because low inflation was the base ingredient causing a reduction in interest rates from whichever institution to be possible (the NHT included). Basic finance explains that Interest Rate is the addition of Inflation Premium, Default Risk Premium, Maturity Risk Premium and Liquidity Premium.

· Inflation Premium- This is the maintenance of the time value of money so if $100 is borrowed now, the amount collected in 5 years can buy the same amount of things the $100 could have bought at the time of lending.

· Default Risk Premium- This measures the likelihood that a person based on certain variables will possibly not pay back the loan. Indeed, it is this risk that the Credit Rating Bureau is aimed at measuring for each Jamaican based on their debt repayment patterns.

· Maturity Risk Premium- This acknowledges the fact that the longer the loan lasts, the more likely it is situations may change to make payments less likely. So maturity risk assumes that risk of nonpayment increases with time.

· Liquidity Premium- This simply accepts that some forms of debt are easier to cash in at their fair value, while others might have to be discounted if being cashed in or have a high cost to do so. This might explain why some banks have a lower interest rate for vehicles than property and in some cases lend closer to the total value of the vehicle but only 70% of the value of the property.

What Peter Phillips was able to achieve with the lowest inflation rate in recent history has created an environment for banks and building societies to move from an average 12% in 2011 to an average of 8.5% currently. In fact, I approached my bank for a rate negotiation because my loan was taken in 2012 at 11.7%.

It is this inflation reduction that created the possibility for a rate reduction even to be considered, much less implemented at this time. However, this is not to take away from Mr. Holness’ announcement, as possibility is what possibility does. I was elated with Mr. Holness’ announcement has corrected to some extent a contradiction which I could not understand. I could not have understood how on earth the NHT’s rate was at 6% when banks were at 12% and remained at 6% when banks were at 8.5% and I still believe that in the current environment the NHT can further reduce the rates of interest.

However, for this conversation, I want to focus on the category mentioned in Mr. Holness’ announcement which is the category of $7500 per week to $12,000 per week. Again, I celebrated the announcement because it immediately occurred to me that more low-income persons would be able to own homes by using the NHT as an avenue. My own father who struggled to build a home for over eight years came to mind and I was overjoyed at the announcement.

The state of joy was however not long-lasting because I was quickly deflated when I applied the “what stinks test.” The “what stinks test” is a strategy I use for analysing my own ideas by seeking to understand what may be the flaws in what initially sounds good. When the “what stinks test” is applied, it is obvious that the zero interest rate was, unfortunately, an announcement more for the optics than the outcomes. What is more unfortunate is that optics in politics has become more important than outcomes because we continuously celebrate announcements as a country.

The income bracket under consideration qualified for an interest rate between 1% and 2% before Mr. Holness’ announcement. With the new announcement a public sector worker earning $7,500 per week, which is equivalent to $30,000 per month, would be asked to pay just over $16,000 per month instead of just over $18,000 per month, thus saving $2,000 if he borrowed $4.8 million for 25 years. More strikingly, if they are not public sector workers they would save $4,000 per month if they borrowed the $4.8 million at 2% instead of 0%. Wow, this is a great saving of any kind and must be celebrated by a person making just $30,000 per month!

But before we light the “clappers” in celebration, let’s look at the likely impact of the announcement within the context of allowing more persons of low income to be able to afford homes.

There has been little correlation between the lower rate of interest and the likelihood to access a NHT loan because the vast majority of loans have gone to those paying 6% versus those paying 1%. This is understandable because the individual earning an income of $30,000 per month cannot afford a monthly loan payment of neither $20,000, $18,000 nor $16,000, so a reduction of the interest rate to 0% which still demands a monthly payment of $16,000 per month will still cause for the purchase of his/her own home to remain a fleeting illusion to be pursued but never attained.

To assume a single mother of two earning $7500 per week ($30,000 per month) would be able to pay $16,000 per month for mortgage is absolutely ridiculous. Indeed, this would mean that we assume that this mother of two and her family would have to survive on $14,000 per month ($30,000-$16,000) this is equivalent to $155 per person per day or $51 per meal with no other expense (light, water, cable). However, let me not be unkind in my analysis: let’s move to the higher point of the announced bracket $12,000 per week or $48,000 per month. This would suggest the individual parent of two would have $32,000 per month after paying mortgage. This $32,000 would have to pay light bills ($4,000), water rate ($1,500), transportation to work ($4,000 or .$200 per day), and cable ($6,000). Subtracting these other bills, the mother of two earning $48,000 per month would have to be able to survive on $183 per person per day. She would have to somehow be able spend no more than $61 per meal.

Another blockade still very present for the announced income bracket is that there is no liveable home anywhere on the market for $4.8 million so they would likely have to borrow other funds from an institution other than NHT at an interest rate of 8.5%. Let us assume the home can be bought for $7,000,000, our single mother of two would access $4.8 million from the NHT at 0% and $2 million from another bank at 8.5% which would suggest an additional payment of $16,000 per month. Somehow we expect a mother of two earning $30,000 per month to be able to access a home for $7,000,000 and pay $32,000 per month in mortgage. Further, we expect this mother to have available $700,000 for down payment and other expenses.

Had Prime Minister Holness been concerned about the outcomes more than the optics, a quick Google search would have taken him to a statement by Earl Samuels, the former managing director of NHT and currently the Assistant General Manager for Jamaica National Building Society who stated in 2014, “The majority of the beneficiaries under the National Housing Trust (NHT) are those in the middle-income category and there is a reason for that: Those at the lower income level, they can’t afford it […] Even at $4.5 million at zero percent interest, a significant portion of the contributors would still not be able to afford it.”

Proposals:

The above, however, is not to throw cold water on the concept for spurring growth through home construction (and renovation) while simultaneously making it more likely for low-income earners. Indeed, this is a case where I agree with the objectives, but the suggested strategy is unlikely to achieve many results. Agreeing with the objectives, therefore, I make the following proposals:

1. Restart Operation Pride: The flaws of Operation Pride were mainly man-made due to corrupt minds, but otherwise the strategies were workable. I propose that Operation Pride is restarted with an NHT allocation of JA $2 billion per year for ten years, focusing in the 1st five years on the regularization of occupied lands (squatter communities) and the implementation of basic infrastructure. The last 5 years can focus on fringe corporate area developments with attached land lease for agriculture. Just 20 minutes from Bull Bay (if proper roads existed) are communities called Bito and Blaxburgh. This place has land, as we would say, “like dirt” and I wanted to relocate some squatters there and attach with the relocation, a ¼ acre of land for farming to give the relocated residents earning potential. Thereby, reducing the need to return to squatting in the “centre” for earning opportunities.

2. Building Material GCT Rebate for 4 years: I propose that the purchasers of basic building materials such as blocks, steel, gravel, plumbing material, cement and paint be allowed to receive a rebate from the NHT if they are NHT contributors for the applied GCT. This would be for 4 years to encourage immediate action, but it would allow all Jamaicans to build, expand, refurbish or renovate their homes within the next three years. This would lead to a mushrooming of employment within the construction sector but also allow the poorest among us to build at their own pace with affordable materials and subsidised labour due to personal skill and personal relationships.

3. Rent to Buy Program: The NHT should invest in high rise buildings that low-income earners can rent, with a portion of the rent going towards purchasing the unit. This would allow parents to pass on the equity in the unit to their children who could continue the ‘rent to buy’ contract to completion. The ‘rent to buy’ program can be a maximum 50 years to ownership program but candidates can make higher payments to reduce the time. This method holds two benefits: firstly, it allows for the continued maintenance of the property due to the rental income being divided into a maintenance portion and an equity portion. Secondly, it’s easier to deal with delinquency through eviction instead of seeking to resell a unit.

4. Parent Will Benefits: More and more of the children of low income earning parents are gaining degrees and becoming professionals in their own right. Already living parents can pair with their child to purchase a home. I am recommending that if a parent dies before their children can buy a home that parent should be able to will their NHT benefit to their child/children.

5. Architect Grants: NHT contributors earning below $2,000,000 per year should be able to qualify for a $200,000 grant for architect assistance and design when building on own land.

Thank you for reading and please tune into my radio show on Nationwide 90 FM (or online https://mixlr.com/nationwide-90fm/embed/?autoplay=true) from 8pm to 10pm, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for conversations such as these.

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