Cheques amounting to Rs 24.7 million remitted to 317 families

In his address at the event, the Minister of Housing and Lands, Mr Purmanund Jhugroo, reiterated Government’s commitment in providing social aid to vulnerable families who are at the lower rung of the social ladder.  He commended these families for their concerted efforts to construct their houses while highlighting that Government, in Budget 2018-2019, had made provision of a major budgetary measure aimed at broadening the categories of households eligible for the grant for the casting of slabs.

The measure includes an increase in the grant, from Rs 75 000 to Rs 100 000, for families earning a monthly income of up to Rs 10 000; Rs 70 000 instead of Rs 40 000 for those earning between Rs 10 001 to Rs 15 000 monthly; and, Rs 50 000 for families earning between Rs 15 001 to Rs 20 000 monthly.

Speaking about the construction of social housing units for the welfare of vulnerable families, the Minister indicated that till June 2020, 4 400 units will be completed and 5 995 units will be constructed with a new design entitled ‘Design Built & Finance Mode’.  Mauritius, he added, is benefitting from a grant of USD20 million and a line of credit of USD25 million from India for the construction of 946 housing units at Mare Tabac and Dagotiere, and Saudi Arabia is providing a line of credit of USD 50 million with an interest of 1% for the construction of 1 050 units.

The implementation of various infrastructural projects to ensure the modernisation and long-term progress of Mauritius was also highlighted by Minister Jhugroo.  Government will continue in its endeavours to provide assistance to upgrade the life of vulnerable families with a view of promoting an equitable and inclusive Mauritian society, he added.

Roof Slab Grant Scheme

The Roof Slab Grant Scheme is an ongoing project of the Ministry of Housing and Lands in collaboration with the National Housing Development Company, which has as objective to provide financial assistance to low-income families for the casting of roof slabs to complete their housing project as well as to strengthen the social and cultural integration of these families.

A total of 195 families have benefitted from a grant of Rs 100 000 each; 88 families have received a grant of Rs 70 000 respectively; and 34 families have received a grant of Rs 50 000 each. Since January 2015 till December 2018, 5 137 have benefitted from the Scheme, to the tune of Rs 330.6 million.