ULP is all about housing development

 Housing developments are “basically in the DNA” of the Unity Labour Party(ULP) Government. 

This was the sentiment of Minister of Urban Development, Energy, Airports, Seaports, Grenadines Affairs and Local Government, Julian Francis, who spoke last Monday during the hand over of 47 housing units built at Lowmans Bay to relocate residents of Rose Place to facilitate development of a modernised port in the capital, Kingstown. 

 Francis said he had heard it expressed that if the financiers did not make the houses a prerequisite then the Port Project would not have taken place. 

“I’ll give you two examples of how this Unity Labour Party (ULP) Government operates. When the stadium project started years ago, there were what we call squatters all over the land. The Government did a survey, got the names of all the occupants, paid them for their structures and offered them land at reduced price within the Diamond Development,” the Minister said. 

“When we built Argyle International Airport (AIA) we assumed and purchased around 140 built properties, 400 land properties. What did we do? We went, we looked for suitable lands for these occupants and the persons that we had paid their properties for. We told them they can go and take out the windows, take out the rafters, whatever in the house structure is useful, they can have it. We put the infrastructure in place in three locations for them, and these were middle to upper-class persons. 

“Put the infrastructure in place, develop the lots, and sold them at reduced price, the market price,” Francis said. 

He emphasised that it is not something that is uncommon. 

“Almost every month of the year this Unity Labour Party Government is carrying out an exercise of this nature,” the Minister said, albeit not of the size of the Lowmans Bay project. 

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves supported these statements when he delivered the feature address. 

“There is no Government in the history of St Vincent and the Grenadines that build more houses and carry out a housing revolution like the Unity Labour Party Government, none; none,” he claimed. 

He listed 17 places where similar housing projects have been executed.

These are at Fitz Hughes, Petit Bordel, Peter’s Hope, Green Hill, Edinboro, Brighton, Diamond, San Souci, Colonarie, South Rivers, Byera, Ottley Hall, Caratal, Langley Park, Noel, Cumberland and Lowmans.