Bad roads blamed for delays in selling government homes

The poor infrastructure in two of the communities where the government is building homes has been blamed for the delays in handing over of the homes.
The Cabinet said it plans to improve the infrastructure in the Denfields and Paynters communities. 
Information Minister, Melford Nicholas told the media yesterday said that if not by Christmas, then by some time soon the roadwork in these communities will be improved.
Minister Nicholas said the infrastructure is one of the challenges prospective homeowners are facing when seeking to get their mortgage applications approved.
“Most of the homeowners who would have subscribed, they would have paid their deposits and done their mobilisation, had their interviews with the respective institutions and we have been advised that two of the domestic banks are awaiting completion of the infrastructure to complete the financial arrangements. In consequence, the critical matter becomes the completing of the roads and drains,” the minister said.
Nicholas said the Public Works Department has been asked to focus its efforts on both communities so that the homes can be handed over to the owners.
“Now the important thing about this is that we were able to glean from the board and the management that approximately $34 million homes would be put into service. What that means is that as they 
complete the handover and the banks would have satisfied the mortgage requirements then the National Urban and Housing Development Programme would have at its availability the cash resources to commence construction of homes in other areas,” he said.
The comment came after one man made a Facebook appeal to Prime Minister Gaston Browne and the St. John’s Rural West representative Londel Benjamin for some relief in the Denfields areas.
“Please, I am begging you, my roads need fixing. In August, I spent $2,200 on front end parts for my wife’s car and $2,500 on front end parts for my car. On (last week) Thursday, an additional $1,200 on another set of front-end parts,” Justé Zachariah wrote.
“Almost all the roads in this area have received recent reconstruction resulting in concrete roads prior, 
during and just a little after the last general elections.  My road was bad before but it is no longer a road but now a pathway for animals since the recent rain,” he added
The social media user said the problem is caused by two hills with a  valley, where the water  settles and takes a while  to run off which is made worse when the water does not run on the side of the road because there is no drainage. 
Zachariah said the situation makes permanent craters and cracks in the road at Cook’s Estate.