St. Georges, April 6, 2005 (Office of the Prime Minister) - The Post Hurricane Ivan Soft Loan Scheme for House Reconstruction was launched today Wednesday April 6th at the Housing Authority Building at Marine Villa on the Carenage in St Georges.

The scheme was formally launched by the Minister Responsible for Housing, the Honourable Yoland Bain Joseph. Other government officials attending the ceremony were Mr. Simeon Collins, Chairman of the Emergency Housing Committee, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development, Mrs. Veda Bruno Victor and special loans co-coordinator Mr. David Lander. 

The highlight of the launch was the handing over of cheques to the first 15 beneficiaries under the Scheme.

The Scheme implemented by the Emergency Housing Committee and administered by the Housing Authority of Grenada, is part of Government’s Recovery Housing Programme, one of the main priority areas of the reconstruction process. The Scheme provides:

·        Maximum loan amount of EC $ 40,000

·        Repayment period of up to 10 years.

·        An optional grace period of up to one year.

·        Interest rate of 3% 

The Scheme is aimed at enabling employed and self employed home owners who did not receive any significant humanitarian assistance or grants to repair and rebuild their houses.  

The Scheme ensures that reconstruction is done in accordance with the Grenada Building Code, by having technical experts inspect each house.