Housing Bill passed in Parliament

THE HOUSE of Represen-tatives yesterday passed legislation to allow the vesting of certain State lands in the National Housing Authority (NHA) for a period of 999 years. In winding up debate on the legislation, Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley reminded the Opposition UNC that it was their first Housing Minister, John Humphrey, who realised that 100,000 housing units were required to satisfy the housing needs of the population. The PNM has publicly stated in its manifesto that it will build 100,000 housing units over a period of ten years (10,000 units per year; 6,000 from State and 4,000 from private sector).

Rowley urged Opposition MPs to jog their memory to the fact that Humphrey “had a crusade on this issue” when he (Humphrey) was Housing Minister. He reminded the UNC that during their six years in power, 6,000 building lots were made available for housing and to date, all of those lots remain vacant. Dr Rowley declared that had the UNC not stolen $1 billion during construction of the new Piarco Airport Terminal, some of the 40,000 applicants at the NHA would be opening the doors to their new homes this Christmas. To vigorous desk-thumping from Government MPs, Rowley countered that the PNM will spend $1 billion “on a housing programme to house the people who need to be housed.” The Minister scoffed at repeated UNC allegations of PNM house-padding in marginal constituencies and the NHA being “the corrupt arm of the PNM.” 

Rowley said the PNM was only in power for six of the last 16 years and if its predecessors had a proper housing policy, there would be no “housing crisis” in Trinidad and Tobago today. Charging that certain UNC MPs had “problems with everyone in TT,” Rowley reminded parliamentarians that freedom of movement was a fundamental constitutional right and “people are free in TT to live wherever they want.” He predicted that the NHA “will surprise this country” by delivering thousands of homes to those who desperately need them. The Minister reminded the Lower House that all major housing settlements in TT were public sector housing constructed by previous PNM governments.

Rowley disclosed that Cabi-net has instructed the Busi-ness Management Development Company (BMDC) to undertake a survey of the former Caroni (1975) Limited’s 77,000 land acreage to determine the lands most suitable for agriculture, housing and industry. He dismissed UNC claims that BMDC chairman Ytharra Rao was undertaking a Caroni housing policy on behalf of the State. The Minister reiterated that it was Government’s intention to provide housing for all and not “to build houses for Government supporters or one kind of people.” Rowley added that 60 percent of NHA applicants currently resided in the East-West Corridor with smaller percentages in Central and South Trinidad. The Bill was passed without opposition and with minor amendments. Acting Leader of Govern-ment Business Colm Imbert said Government will only revert to the Lower House unless “unforseen circumstances” mandate it to and requested that the House be adjourned to a date to be fixed. Imbert, House Speaker Barry Sinanan and Oppo-sition Chief Whip Ganga Singh then extended Christ-mas greetings to all parliamentarians and parliamentary staff.