HOLY SUNDAY EAST. President Luis Abinader and the Minister of the Presidency, Joel Santos Echavarría, headed this Sunday the fourth installment of projects of the Happy Family National Housing Plan, made up of 144 apartments built in the Ciudad Altos de la Riviera Residential Complex, in Santo Domingo Este.
Santos Echavarría reported that the Government’s investment in this project exceeds RD$102 million, through the granting of bonuses to the beneficiaries ranging from 750,000 to 954,000 for each family.
He indicated that of the 144 housing solutions, 18 correspond to beneficiaries of the Dominican diaspora in New Yorkwith the purpose of offering Dominicans residing outside the country the opportunity to have decent housing in their home soil.
“This truly is change and there are each of the beneficiaries who can tell their own story! Nurses, teachers, electricians, cashiers, military, police, hairdressers, drivers, vendors… as a representation of the great diversity of other occupations covered by this project!” Santos Echavarría highlighted.
The minister explained that the beneficiary families have received an average of 750,000 pesos each, and in the case of women heads of household, this contribution increases to 204,000 pesos more, that is, around 954,000 pesos of the cost of the housing, with: Initial Bonus, Itbis Bonus, Women’s Bonus and Rate Bonus for 7 years.
He specified that for this project of housing solutions aimed at low-income families, the Government has allocated the sum of 102 million 213 thousand 600 pesos in bonds.
“In total, 32 women are benefited with the Women’s Bonus in this project, which have been selected by the Ministry of Women, in accordance with their socioeconomic level and living conditions; while 18 Dominicans residing outside their homeland have also been favored”, indicated Santos Echavarría.
The minister thanked the Consulate General of New York, in the person of the Consul General, Eligio Jáquez, for the facilities to establish constant contact and communication with those favored, and thus collaborate with the collection of the necessary documentation to apply to the Plan.
“Today we are celebrating, we deliver dignified roofs, safe homes, to you who with so much effort live outside your homeland and sacrificially save every dollar to send remittances to your relatives. They can celebrate now that they already have their own home!” said the minister.
Meanwhile, President Luis Abinader validated the words of Minister Santos, stating that making the diaspora part of the Government’s public policies is the best way to reward the contributions that this important social sector makes to the country, even if they are physically absent from their land.
“The truth is that what we are doing is providing a little justice to the diaspora, still insufficient because in previous governments, it seemed that those who were already leaving the country, even being Dominicans, did not exist. Like the Dominicans here, those who work outside the country make their contributions through remittances and other forms of socioeconomic movements.
On the other hand, the Minister for Women, Mayra Jiménez, specified that of the 51 women selected by the Happy Family National Housing Plan, the ministry granted 32 “Women’s Bonuses”, which represents 63% of the applicants.
Jiménez stressed that, with this action, the Ministry for Women seeks to contribute to the “comprehensive reparation and full exercise” of the rights of women victims of gender violence, single mothers or heads of household, address the discrimination they suffer women in the labor market and the disproportionate allocation of care tasks.
About the project
Altos de la Riviera consists of 1,600 homes and is being built in several phases. The first stage consists of 144 apartments of the Happy Family Plan. The houses have 73 and 75 square meters each, two and three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and a parking space. The residential also has a recreational park of more than 12 thousand square meters.
During the ceremony, the senator of the Santo Domingo province, Antonio Taveras; the Minister for Women, Mayra Jiménez; the governor of the Santo Domingo province, Julia Drullard.
Also, the mayor of the Santo Domingo Este municipality, Manuel Jiménez; the president of the Dominican Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Construction Companies, Eliseo Cristopher; and on behalf of the Consul General of the Dominican Republic in New York, Juanita Martínez, Elías Barreras Corporán and Sara Lina Machado Balbuena.
