PAC told NHA missing $1B

AS much as one billion dollars, allocated to the National Housing Authority (NHA), has not been properly accounted for, learnt the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament yesterday. The PAC is a joint select committee appointed under the National Constitution section 119 to scrutinise the accounts of Government ministries and other public bodies and to consider reports from the Auditor-General. Yesterday the PAC probed bodies which had failed to submit reports. NHA CEO, Noel Garcia, told the PAC of the challenges that had impeded the authority from submitting its financial reports for the past seven years from 1997 to 2003. The NHA had been without a financial controller since 2002, had undergone a high turnover of staff, previously suffered poor record keeping, experienced a flood in the 1990s which had allegedly destroyed many records, and had technical problems in evaluating its assets and in making provisions for bad debts.

Garcia said he had written to the Auditor-General saying he was ready to submit to her the statements for 1997 to 2002, but he was still awaiting a response from her. In reply to PAC chairman, St Joseph MP Gerald Yetming, Garcia listed the Government’s annual subvention to the NHA for wages, maintenance of its 9,000 rental units, and payment of items like public utilities and insurance. This year the NHA had received $124 million, up from $90 million in 2003 and $83 million in 2002. Its allocation for capital expenditure from the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) had also increased to $98 million this year up from $21 million in 2003 and $23 million in 2002. Garcia said, “Government support is substantial and in addition the NHA took two loans,” These consisted of $450 million to build 3,000 housing units, and $20 million to refurbish certain housing units in east Port-of-Spain.

Garcia listed the NHA’s revenue stream as being $43 million in 2004, $38 million in 2003, and $36 million in 2002. He revealed that the NHA had no set policy for writing off bad debts in mortgages and rents. “A number of people have substantial arrears. It could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.” Yetming noted the NHA had not submitted its accounts for seven years, with each year having an average annual subvention of $100 million. “Without being dramatic, we are dealing with a missing billion dollars or an unaccounted billion dollars.” Yetming then asked Garcia if ghost gangs still existed in the NHA’s refurbishment scheme, which he said could constitute a severe leakage of funds. Garcia replied that since taking office in 2003 he had changed the way these projects were done.

He recalled being summoned before the Integrity Commission which had been concerned about media reports of this abuse. He said, “From all indications the refurbishment programme as it is run now is free from abuse. The Integrity Commission was satisfied the NHA had taken steps to ensure money was disbursed for work done and not for work that was promised to be done.” The Integrity Commission had asked the NHA to get an external auditor, he added. “As far as I’m concerned the matter is closed.” Yetming asked Garcia to categorically state that the NHA had a fair policy for distributing housing. Garcia replied the system of distribution was fair and transparent. He remarked that the NHA was building housing units far cheaper than any contractor in the country at a cost of about $160 to $240 per square foot.