Mauritius: Beneficiaries of the Roof Slab Grant Scheme received their cheques yesterday during a ceremony held at Mumtaz Mahal Reception Hall in Curepipe in the presence of the Acting Prime Minister (PM), Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism, Mr Louis Steven Obeegadoo, the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano, and other personalities.
Some 60 families from Beau Bassin, Rose Hill, Quatre Bornes, Vacoas, Phoenix and Curepipe received cheques on this occasion, while an amount of more than Rs 21 million was disbursed under the Scheme for a total of 293 beneficiaries for the month of December 2022.
In his address, Acting PM Obeegadoo highlighted that more than 1,500 families had received cheques under the Roof Slab Grant Scheme amounting to some Rs 113 million for the year 2022.
Moreover, he pointed out that, since November 2019, nearly 4,000 families have received an amount of around Rs 292 million under the Scheme, which aims at helping those in need.
Regarding some 74 families at Mare Chicose who need to be relocated, Mr Obeegadoo remarked that needful has already been done for more than 60 of them. He reassured that Government is doing its best to offer a better place of living to the remaining families.
Speaking about the 12,000 housing units to be built by the New Social Living Development Ltd, he remarked that the most important issue remains the cost of building a housing unit. Once completed, he stated, the housing unit has to be affordable so that a needy beneficiary can afford to buy one, despite the subsidy offered by Government.
He also reassured that despite some lateness accumulated for the project due to, amongst others, the COVID-19 pandemic and land acquisition procedures, works would be up and running early next year.
Moreover, Acting PM Obeegadoo reminded us that the National Housing Development Co Ltd has already allocated some 2,200 housing units to beneficiaries since November 2019.
As for Minister Ramano, he underscored that the Roof Slab Grant Scheme is a Governmental measure aiming to ensure the wellness and good quality of life of the population. He also expressed satisfaction as, nowadays, climate change is being taken into consideration while building a house.
Minister Ramano further recalled that with time, the Roof Slab Grant Scheme had been upgraded so as to enable more needy members of the public to beneficiate from it. Beneficiaries of the Scheme can nowadays benefit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 under the Roof Slab Grant Scheme depending on their salary, he added.
