A LARGE crowd packed the Seventh- Day Adventist Church on Deacons Road, St Michael.

by YVETTE BEST

ELECTRICAL UPGRADES are in the works for National Housing Corporation (NHC) units.

Minister of Housing Michael Lashley told a town hall meeting in Deacons, St Michael, on Monday that $5 million had been approved in the Estimates to complete the work.

A number of people expressed concern about problems with the electrical supply, with one woman calling herself "Lady Di" warning that if attention was not paid to the electricity in the "old houses", a number of fires could result.

NHC general manager Vincent Alleyne assured those who had recently acquired their units, in particular, that the electrical supply and other repairs would be completed before the title deeds were handed over.

Talk of the wiring sparked questions about insurance of the units and the effectiveness of the firewalls.

Alleyne told the audience they were free to take out insurance on an individual basisand that the corporation was consulting with insurance companies to come up with reasonable rates.

With regard to the firewalls, panellists cited several examples, one of which was in the Deacons community, where the firewall effectively confined a fire to one unit and reduced the level of damage.

Lashley interjected that insurance on all the units had not been paid since 2002 and that the NHC had come into some money, which would take care of the lapsed insurance.

Tenants also complained about leaky roofs and malfunctioning windows and doors that dated back many years, in some instances.

Constituency representative Chris Sinckler reminded the audience that the NHC was operating on a "minimal budget" and could not keep up with all of the repairs. He added that properties would cost more to maintain as they got older.