At a commissioning ceremony for a newly built road in Block ‘F’, North Sophia, Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali on Wednesday announced that plans are in train to spend $120M for developmental works in the area this year.
Block ‘F’ was a squatting area that was regularised during the 1990s. However, with inadequate roads crisscrossing through the area, residents formed the Block ‘F’ Community Group to lobby for proper infrastructure. Their efforts bore fruit after several meetings with officials from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and the Ministry of Housing and Water, leading to a $15.3M contract, awarded to Puran Bros Contracting Services, to fix the roads. The project lasted more than one month.
At the commissioning ceremony, Minister Ali told the residents that the road is a victory for them. He lauded their cooperation and persistence in improving their living conditions and declared his delight at seeing the positive changes the improved roads have brought to the community. “What I have seen here today is an amazing show of how an investment in infrastructure can transform the lives of people,” he said.
Ali noted that over 75% of squatting settlements countrywide have been regularised and, in particular, he said over the last 11 years the ministry has invested more than $1.5B in Sophia to the benefit of over 23,000 persons. Included in the ministry’s investment was the Block ‘F’ road project, which was designed and supervised internally by the CH&PA.
‘Youths need help’
Chairman of the Block ‘F’ Community Group Maureen Higgins, at the commissioning ceremony, said that the initiative to have the road rehabilitated was welcomed and she also dubbed it a success for the community. She thanked the minister for jumping at the proposal and lauded the officers of CH&PA for their efforts in the initiative. Higgins then advised that street lights be installed in the community to deter criminal elements, while adding that a recreational centre is needed. She also proposed that a multipurpose building for educational activities be erected.
“In this community I must bring to your attention that the youths need help, they really need help, especially with literacy and if we don’t have somewhere to gather them and teach them, we will lose this generation,” she said.
Meanwhile, National Director of Community Development Councils Philomena Sahoye-Shury told the gathering that in the early 1990s, residents Sophia residents lived in “little tents” and to see its development has been remarkable. She said the process towards regularisation was lengthy and traumatic, as some persons had resisted giving up certain plots. Sahoye-Shury, however, lauded the community for its cooperation to ensure development and the development of others.
CH&PA Community Development Specialist Donell Bess-Bascom said she was honoured to work with the community because of its resolve to ensure that the needs of its members were met. She said its example should be emulated by other community groups who desire to progress.
Meanwhile, Ali also challenged the Spotlighters Youth Group, the youth arm of the community group, to join the ‘Pick it up’ anti-littering campaign and to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to launch it in Sophia. He also pledged the ministry’s support for any proposals that would advance living conditions while cautioning the community to guard against squatting in order to ensure that it progresses.
