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Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 15, 2015 (SKNIS)—Persons who have been allocated land for housing from the Government and are in arrears with their payments have the opportunity to pay those arrears without having to pay the interest accrued. They have until December 31, 2015, to do so, said Minister of Human Settlement, Honourable Eugene Hamilton on Wednesday during the broadcast of the Government’s radio show “Working for You.”
“We offered to the public an opportunity to pay for their lands and remove the interest that has been accrued for many years,” Minister Hamilton said. “If you have land that you obtained 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years ago and it’s not yet paid up for, it means interest would have accrued. And if in principle you owe for the land, let’s say $1500 and the interest is $4000, you can go… and pay that $1500 and that $4000 interest would be waived. By the end of December, you have that opportunity,” the agriculture minister announced, while urging those in arrears to take advantage of that opportunity.
Meanwhile, on a related housing matter, the minister is encouraging persons who are in arrears to the National Housing Corporation (NHC) to endeavor to settle those arrears. Minister Hamilton had disclosed that the NHC owes the Social Security Board $87 million and this was due mainly to a 34% delinquency to the NHC. To deal with this debt, the minister said delinquent people must “come to terms” and pay their debts to the NHC.
“I believe that if the delinquent people are fully engaged, and can pay and do pay, then we would be in a better position to service that debt over time,” Minister Hamilton said.
On the other hand, the minister noted that if people do not pay these debts, then the country would edge towards the financial situation it faced under the previous administration. Such debt, he said could bring the country back to the point where austerity measures are implemented and the Team Unity Government does not intend to follow this path.
“The debt of NHC, if it’s not properly monitored, all becomes part of the whole national debt, that cannot be paid and may lead to structural adjustments…. under our watch we will not put our country where it was under the previous administration,” Hamilton asserted.

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