Families living in exposed, unsafe or rundown houses will be provided for in a $2 million Government shelter drive to raise the living standards of the nation’s most vulnerable people. 

The Cabinet recently approved the release of funding worth $2 million to begin the project, which will help build homes for families in need around the country. 

The project was announced by the Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, on Friday as part of a Government social development drive. 

“[A total of] $2 million has been allocated for a housing [and hygiene development programme] to assist those who are the most vulnerable in terms of housing,” she said.

Fiame said the project will be a joint collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the Adventist Development Relief Agency (A.D.R.A.) Samoa.

She said that projects dedicated to dispensing funds to those living in poverty had been blighted by lengthy delays in previous years but she said the Government was committed to providing assistance to those most in need as soon as possible. 

The housing initiative will be complemented by other policies designed to provide assistance to those most in need after two years of a pandemic-led economic downturn. 

Some of the Government-approved projects earmarked for these purposes include: $10 million funding for small businesses through the Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour; $5 million for the tourism sector through the Samoa Tourism Authority (S.T.A.).

All Cabinet Ministers have been advised to proceed with the projects, the preparations for which have been approved as part of the nation’s budget.

The Minister of Finance, Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molio'o, in her budget speech in September this year said that the $2 million allocation was for what the Government is calling the Shelter and Hygiene Facilities Programme. 

Mulipola said that the Government had laid the groundwork to make sure that the policy programme is finely targeted to meet the needs of the most vulnerable of the nation’s citizens and upgrade their living conditions. 

The Government’s shelter drive is similar to a policy initiative launched by the preceding administration which gave more than 100 vulnerable families new homes via a $1 million shelter construction project. 

Funding assistance for those new shelters was allocated last year as part of the previous Government’s second round of economic stimulus package designed to offset the effects of the COVID-19 led economic downturn.

A.D.R.A. Samoa was also overseeing the project operations with T.N. Construction carrying out the work. 

In a previous interview with A.D.R.A.’s programme director, Dr. Feunai Agape Papalii Tautau, said that the project, which started in August 2020, led to more than 150 families receiving better living conditions. 

Some of the families that benefited from the project were featured in the Samoa Observer's Village Voice column.

This July Dr. Papalii confirmed that they have built 118 new shelters and completed 53 home renovations.

Assistance will only be provided to low or no income families who depend upon their plantations for subsistence living, or eke out small profits from selling produce.