Tobago homeowners get assistance

Tobago House of Assembly.
In March, the Division of Settlements and Labour held three cheque distribution ceremonies at the Moriah Community Centre, Argyle Community Centre and the DIPU Conference Room where $1.2 million dollars in grants were distributed to 166 households across Tobago.

The Division has a number of programmes geared toward assisting and improving the living and housing conditions of Tobago’s homeowners. The programmes include the Home Improvement Grant, Home Improvement Subsidy and Home Completion Grant.

“… to date, we would have distributed approximately $4.3 million in grants. $3.4 million in the Home Improvement Programme, $490,000 in the Home Completion Grant Programme and $320,000 in the Home Improvement Subsidy,” Secretary of the Division of Settlements and Labour Huey Cadette said.

During the weekly Post Executive Council briefing, Cadette encouraged Tobago’s citizens who are in need of home assistance to come to the Division’s Bobtail office to pick up the necessary forms. In addition, he said that forms would be available through the offices of area representatives.

Cadette said the Division recognised the need to review elements of their grant programmes, including determining whether the award amount was appropriate based on the changes in the price of material, the scope of work in which grants could be used for, the timeline for processing applications and the criteria used to select award recipients.

The Division offers grants up to a total of $15,000 and subsidies up to a total of $20,000.