Morris says Ruthven Towers residents still waiting on documents after 4 years

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Some four years after the Ruthven Towers Apartments in St Andrew were sold, residents of the complex have not received documents and promised amenities for their property, according to Opposition Spokesperson on Housing and Sustainable Living, Professor Senator Floyd Morris. "This is unacceptable and disgraceful," Morris said in a press release on Monday. The senator is asking the National Housing Trust (NHT) and Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, who has carriage for the NHT, to state the true position regarding the land on which these apartments were built.

"Does the NHT or the Government have the original title for the land where these apartments were built? Why is it taking so long for these residents to get the proper documents that would allow them to establish a proper strata development to function effectively under the law?" According to Morris, the residents of Ruthven Towers engaged in legitimate transactions with the NHT, and it is the duty of the NHT to deliver to these residents. The professor asked: "Why is it that the amenities that were promised to the residents in the development have not been constructed at the facility?" He is describing what has taken place at Ruthven Towers Apartments as a "bad deal" for the residents.

"The Government and the NHT promoted the development as the new model of housing development in Jamaica. Yet, the project has been bedevilled by a plethora of problems." According to Professor Senator Morris: "What has transpired at Ruthven Towers Apartments is demonstrative of fundamental failures in the Government's approach to housing. When it is not bulldozing people's houses, it is building on lands without the titles and building houses that are not affordable to working class Jamaicans." Professor Senator Morris is calling on the Government to: Tell the country the reason for the delays in generating titles for the apartments at Ruthven Towers.

State whether the NHT is the legitimate owner of the land on which these houses were built. Confirm whether the NHT received approval to build these houses without proper documentation for the land. Indicate when residents will receive the documents that will allow them to establish a proper strata, as required by law.

Indicate when the NHT will complete and deliver all the amenities that were promised to the apartment owners in this development.