The Government Is Committed to Rapidly Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing
Just before coming here, I broke ground in Bernard Lodge for the construction of 700 new homes. And these homes will be targeted at the segment of the market that we describe as affordable housing. So, this would be for persons who are earning um minimum wage and above and just below middle income. That segment of the market is underserved. We do not have enough investment in that segment of the market to produce the number of houses that are demanded every year. It is not merely a shortage of uh financing opportunities. It is also, in fact, more so a shortage of the physical housing structures themselves. And that is something that the government has to address. And we have done so by making lands available to be developed on the basis that the houses will be made available to the market on an affordable basis. We see the shortage there as significant. And indeed, it is because there is a shortage of affordable housing, uh that is why we have, in part, a significant challenge with informal and irregular settlements emerging. We are Well, we have been doing uh studies on this problem. We have good information on the problem. And one of the things that would have come out in a very prominent way. Is that many of the persons who are illegally settling lands are not uh persons who would not be able to uh afford to purchase. Many of them are contributors to the NHD. Uh some of them, when we ask them questions, say, "You know, yes, I have my down payment. But the problem is I just can't find a housing solution that matches my income level." So, the the government has to rapidly increase the supply of affordable housing solutions.