Dwayne Vaz: McKenzie Incompetent over shelter housing delays.

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]The following is a release from the People's National Party media unit. This is Dwayne Vaz, member of Parliament for Central Westland, and I am calling on the government to urgently address the ongoing housing crisis affecting families displaced by Hurricane Medelisa as residents who were housed at the Petersfield shelter still remain without the permanent accommodation they were promised months ago. My comments come in response to recent statements made by the Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, regarding the relocation of displaced residents from the Petersfield High School shelter. I am not engaging in any quarrel with Minister McKenzie. My concern is with the people who were promised homes and are still waiting.

[00:00:46]The government's public announced May 8 deadline was never simply about residents leaving the shelter. It was presented as part of a broader commitment to transition displaced families into suitable and permanent housing.

[00:01:01]Residents were informed that 50 houses would be constructed for affected families with 20 units expected in the first phase of the development. However, as of May 9, only six bases have reportedly been laid at the proposed site with no completed housing structures and no supporting infrastructure, including water, sewage, or electricity. These are not political claims. These are conditions that currently exist on the ground and can be verified by anyone who visits the location. I am also deeply concerned about the condition of the temporary accommodation to which residents were relocated. The move was poorly coordinated and wholly inadequate for families already displaced by disaster.

[00:01:49]Residents arrived to find unsanitary and ratinfested conditions and were forced to clean the facility themselves before occupying the space. Families who have already endured the trauma of losing their homes should never have been placed in those circumstances.

[00:02:06]It is unacceptable.

[00:02:09]Attempts to shift blame towards the Westland Municipal Corporation are also misleading. As municipal corporations fall under the Ministry of Local Government, this should not become a PNP versus JLP issue. The focus must remain on the commitments made to the people and whether those commitments are being fulfilled. I also wish to clarify that the roof's program is administered through the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and not through constituency offices. I do not approve recipients, disperse funds or administer the program. Those responsibilities fall under the ministry. My responsibility is to the people of my constituency who are still affected by this crisis and I will continue to stand with them until every promise made to them is delivered.

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