The Housing Recovery Project Project Implementation Unit (HRP PIU) wishes to inform the public that we are deeply sympathetic of Alipher Reid’s plight and remain committed to improving her living conditions. However, it has been brought to our attention that recent interviews published by various media entities on social media platforms and being circulated in the public domain have unfairly cast the Project, the Government of Dominica, and the World Bank in a very poor light.
We wish to put forward the unmitigated facts of Alipher Reid’s case. Alipher’s application was initially rejected in 2020 on the basis that she commenced re-construction before a decision was made. However, she successfully filed a grievance in that same year, using the Project’s robust Greivance Redress Mechanism. Her application was reassessed and Alipher was subsequently approved for an HRP home.
As a final step in the validation process, Alipher’s name was published in the HRP’s Eleventh List of Applicants, identified as part of its Homeowners’ Programme on March 31, 2022 (The Chronicle). Subsequently, Alipher was officially enrolled as a beneficiary of the Housing Recovery Project on September 8, 2022, where she signed a contract with the Government of Dominica for the construction of her home. The Project Implementation Unit further facilitated her homeowner enrolment by dispatching the PIU’s driver and Social Safeguards Team to assist her with getting to the venue of the 11th homeowner orientation when she failed to show up for her scheduled appointment. The project established that as a squatter she had no legal rights to the state land on which she was squatting prior to the destruction of her home by Hurricane Maria. Notwithstanding, the Ministry of Housing, allocated a lot and produced a survey plan to regularize Alipher’s land tenure status.
The PIU has been awaiting a Tender Pack from our design and construction supervision consultants based in the UK so that the necessary planning approval can be obtained prior to the commencement of her construction. This delay was explained to Alipher during her last visit to the PIU on Friday the 28th of July 2023. Whilst we regret that her homeowner journey has been lengthy considering her circumstances, her case has been complicated by her previous land tenure status and the construction she undertook whilst awaiting a decision. She is on track to receiving not only a resilient home but also a lot allocated to her by the Government of Dominica.
With this information, we kindly request that beneficiaries and other persons seeking information about the Housing Recovery Project and its beneficiary selection criteria always visit the HRP PIU as their first port of call for reliable information.
