Parliament debates housing for 999 years

HOUSING MINISTER Dr Keith Rowley will present legislation in Parliament today which will vest certain State lands in the National Housing Authority (NHA) for a period of 999 years. Over the past week, Dr Rowley has been touring housing projects both in Trinidad and in Tobago to get an assessment about the ongoing works.  Rowley indicated that while there were some initial “teething problems,” the national housing programme is off the ground and poised to shift into high gear in 2004. “Having taken care of those initial problems, we are now in a position to accelerate the programme.

As the dry season is approaching, we are well positioned to maximise efforts in the dry season, and within the next year we will be able to be deliver hundreds of homes on an ongoing basis to the tens of thousands of persons who are currently expected to be housed from this programme,” he declared. Rowley said all stakeholders were on board, planning has already begun for 2004-2005 and Government will meet its target quota of 6,000 houses per annum with the private sector building 4,000 houses per annum. Government’s housing policy is to build 100,000 houses over a ten-year period. The Minister has also been critical of the local banking sector for not doing enough to assist the national housing policy. Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar will then ask Rowley to state Government’s policy regarding the compulsory acquisition of lands of housing. Attorney General John Jeremie will present legislation to repeal and replace the Sentencing Commission Act 2000 and pertaining to Family Proceedings for second reading.
Legislation to amend the Extradition (Common-wealth and Foreign Territories) Act 1985 will also be presented for second reading.

Persad-Bissessar will also ask Jeremie about the amount of money still owed by the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen to the State, and  ask Science, Technology and Tertiary Education Minister Colm Imbert about the implementation status of the Dollar for Dollar programme. Opposition Chief Whip Ganga Singh has questions for Public Utilities Minister Pennelope Beckles regarding the financial affairs at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), the Solid Waste Management Company Limited (SWMCOL) and the National Lotteries Control Board. Also listed for debate on today’s House Order Paper is a Private Members’ motion filed by St Joseph MP Gerald Yetming calling upon the Lower House to “reaffirm its commitment to the elimination of discrimination in all its forms and the right of the individual to equality of treatment from public authorities. The UNC is charging that the PNM has institutionalised discrimination at State Enterprises and Agencies since returning to office in December 2001. Today’s sitting, which begins at 1.30 pm, is expected to be the final sitting of the Lower House before Christmas.