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Housing Minister Seeks Funding for Deprived Communities

Contact: Julita Peter

Hon Richard Frederick, Minister for Physical Planning, Housing, Urban Renewal and Local Government.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 – Saint Lucia's Minister for Housing, Honourable Richard Frederick is continuing his attempts to make alternative housing available for residents of deprived communities.

The minister's dream came closer to reality, when he led a ten-member delegation to a Sustainable Building and Construction Conference, held in Martinique from April 3^rd to the 4^th.

Opportunities for working with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to investigate and promote sustainable building in the region were among the key issues discussed at the conference.

Hon. Richard Fredrick with other officials at the Martinique forum

Minister Frederick brought into focus the plight of at least three communities in the Castries Central Constituency, including Wiltons Yard, Grass Street and Conway, emphasising the need to rehabilitate ghetto areas, when he addressed conference delegates representing CARICOM and Latin American countries.

“This is so, as the need for sustainable building and construction, particularly in small island developing states, is becoming a matter of utmost concern. We therefore look forward to working with you under this global partnership platform, to think globally on how we can resolve some of the problems, specific to the region taking cognisance of prevailing local conditions within a given environment, to implement projects that impact directly on the average citizens,” the minister said.

The Housing minister thinks his plea was well received, saying he had spoken to about three officials, who in turn have expressed interest in assisting him in ensuring that those intentions come to fruition.

Quite aside from his impressive presentation, which obviously caught the interest of the donor agencies that were present, conference delegates thought Minister Frederick presented himself as a good spokesman for the CARICOM region.

Said the minister, “I must say I feel flattered at a meeting of such level, where you had powerful persons from throughout the world. I guess persons see in me what I do not in myself.  Invariably if given the opportunity, I will serve at any level whatever, to benefit the deprived people whom I represent.”

The outreach meeting of global public and private sector building industry stakeholders from Latin America and CARICOM was conducted in close cooperation with the Martinique Regional Council, with the support of the European Union.

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