The Government on Friday 21st September 2012 handed over 11 new homes to residents of the Fond St. Jacques area who totally lost their homes during the passage of Hurricane Tomas in October 2010. The 11 new homes comprise the Government of St Lucia (GOSL) funded component of a wider Housing Resettlement Scheme designed to relocate 28 households in the area. The initiative is a joint venture between the GOSL and the Pinnacle Trust and is implemented through the National Reconstruction and Development Unit within the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs, Planning and Social Security. The Unit was established following Hurricane Tomas in January 2011 to coordinate the overall national reconstruction effort.
Programme Manager of the NRDU, Mrs Elizabeth Charles-Soomer indicates that the GOSL component comprising the 11 homes was efficiently delivered by contractors Belview Resorts Ltd within six months. Charles-Soomer further stated that the remaining infrastructure and 17 homes, 5 of which are currently under construction, are expected to be completed by the Pinnacle Trust by the end of the current financial year.
Other contributors to the project include ADRA—the Adventist Disaster Relief Agency (International Organization) which provided fitting and fixtures for the 11 homes; the Fond St Jacques Credit Union, which is working in partnership with the GOSL to provide affordable loans to residents; the St Lucia Red Cross, Soufriere Development Foundation, The Fond St Jacques Development Committee, and the former Post Tomas Housing Committee within the Ministry of Physical Development and Housing.
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