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.