Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Thursday handed over a brand new three-bedroom house to the family of Delano Tucker in Guy’s Hill, St Catherine.
Delano’s story of academic excellence amid the grips of poverty went viral and warmed the hearts of many locally and overseas. It also sparked the interest of the Government to act.
Holness, in addressing the formal handing-over of the house, underscored that the story led the Government to analyse the situation properly to find the best solution for the Tucker family.
He noted that this mere presence at the time would not have been beneficial, therefore, the best course was to allow the government system to work.
This, said Holness, led to the decision of handing over a house under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).
“There are hundreds of cases like Delano’s and the Government cannot just act out of emotion. The Government has to always in everything, think about whether the action is fair to everyone. And we decided that there was a programme retrofitted for this circumstance,” he explained.
The prime minister emphasised that through the NSHP, over 84 families who lived under similar circumstances such as the Tucker family, have received a new home.
He, therefore, reiterate that the intention of the NHSP is to address the worst living conditions in Jamaica.
In the meantime, Holness stated that the census take-up which will begin in September is critical to the process of addressing the living conditions that exist in the country.
Against that background, he encouraged all Jamaicans to participate in the process and provide the necessary information to the census takers.
