Prime Minister Andrew Holness is being taken to task by the Opposition Spokesperson on housing and sustainable living, Floyd Morris, following his projection that his administration is on track to build 70,000 homes during this fiscal year.

Morris has dismissed this projection as a mere figment of his imagination and an attempt to mislead the Jamaican people.

“The recent projection of the prime Mmnister about his administration on track to build 70,000 houses, of which the National Housing Trust (NHT) is to build approximately 43,000, of which over 30,000 are at various development stages, is far from the target delineated in the Manifesto of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in 2020. The prime minister must be reminded that announcements and pronouncements about houses to be built, do not constitute delivery of a house. We need to see blocks in the ground and people getting keys for these houses,” he said.

The opposition spokesperson is adamant that the Andrew Holness-led administration will not be able to reach the projected target by 2025.

“When you disaggregate the numbers put forward by the Prime Minister on houses being built by the NHT, it is pellucid that his administration will not be able to reach the target of 70,000 houses by 2025. From his numbers, the NHT is behind by over 10,000 houses, and these cannot be completed by 2025. Furthermore, we do not know how many of the 70,000 houses have been built by the private sector” Morris said.

“Approximately three years ago, the prime minister broke ground for the construction of 2,000 houses at Colbeck in St. Catherine. Yet, three years later, there is not one house to be seen at the location. Infrastructure has been developed. But no houses have been built,” the opposition spokesman mused further.

Meanwhile, Morris is accusing the government of not catering to low-income earners in their housing development plans.

“Over the past eight years, we have seen the price for houses skyrocketing out of the reach of individuals in the low- to middle-income band. When a government agency can be selling a lot for over $20 million on the market, they cannot be serious about getting houses at an affordable rate for our citizens. This is madness!,” Morris said.

He is now urging the prime minister to provide a clear account of how many actual houses have been constructed by the NHT and the private sector since 2020.