Urban and rural shelter improvement

The project will improve urban squatter settlements and provide home improvement loans to credit union members. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) will be the borrower; the Ministry of Construction (MOC) and the Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League (JCCUL) will implement, respectively, the squatter settlement and home improvement components. Under the squatter settlement component, basic infrastructure will be provided at 15 sites, each housing 50-500 families and comprising a total of 2,500 lots. Improvements will range from surveying and grading to providing water, sewers, access roads, footpaths, and electricity. Some community facilities will be built and a balanced lot scheme will be provided for each site. Construction should generate $10 million worth of employment. The MOC"s Sites and Services Division will become fully staffed and will include a new design, planning, and monitoring unit. Under the home improvement component, 5,900 loans averaging $1,000 will be made to credit union members; the JCCUL will develop procedures to expand the home improvement program. Both components will target those earning less than median income. TA and training will be provided through Project 5320067. A resident advisor will coordinate HG implementation and will help the GOJ and the JCCUL develop a national housing policy and strategy and an updated shelter sector assessment. Short-term consultants will provide specific analyses and conduct studies in such areas as housing finance and management. Training will include participation in A.I.D."s Housing Shelter Training Workshop, a series of 2-week courses on shelter development, and U.S. short courses in housing finance and financial management. It is assumed that the new GOJ will adopt a firm cost-recovery plan and gradually improve the difficult land acquisition process and that TA will prove adequate for the inexperienced staffs of the implementing agencies. Amendment of 10/82 revises the project in line with recent GOJ policy and institutional changes. In a significant reallocation of funds, the GOJ will finance an additional 4,600 shelter solutions (2 new components - serviced sites with core housing and building loans for owners of lots - have been added to the building program) and commit itself to maximum cost-recovery. The Jamaica Mortgage Bank will replace the MOF as official borrower, and mortgage servicing will now be provided by Caribbean Housing Finance Corp. and the National Housing Trust. (PD-AAN-080) For further modification of the TA component, see record of 5320067.