50 Cubans to help build houses

While wealthy international organisations will be asked to haul out their chequebooks, there is one neighbouring country that is offering hurricane relief, which may be more meaningful than cash. News Five has learned that the government of Cuba will be sending a fifty-member team to help erect a hundred new Cubel homes. Housing Minister Dickie Bradley says that the Cuban assistance will help ease congestion in Belize City.

Dickie Bradley, Minister of Housing

“The Cubans are not in a position to make a financial contribution to Belize, but they do have the spirit of solidarity.”

“The Cubans will assist us with a number of workers. As much as fifty workers will come to Belize and we’re hoping to concentrate them at the mile eight and Burrell Boom area because it is far cost effective to build houses in one locality than to be running all over the place. They will bring their cooks, medical personnel, their engineers and they will divide themselves into five teams of ten each or ten teams of five. At the end of the six month period we’re hoping to have over one hundred houses constructed by the Cuban workers.”

Bradley says the Cubel housing project has allowed his ministry to reduce the cost of a three-bedroom house from forty-five thousand to thirty thousand dollars. The first members of the Cuban team will arrive next week.