Camille, Cox, stop the abuse

It is really a sad day when the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) feels forced to evict those who have got“affordable housing” – rental or rent-to-own – but repeatedly failed to honour their contractual payment obligations.

Last week, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ms Camille Robinson-Regis told Parliament: “From the 394 evictions conducted over 2009-2024, some 376 were for illegal occupancy. In 2024, evictions have commenced for arrears and subletting.”

"Subletting?” This means these particular HDC tenants don’t really need houses but seek to profit from taxpayers’ generosity.

So far, Robinson-Regis declared that “$241.7 million was owed to the HDC” – payments outstanding “from two and a half years-seven years.”

What! Seven years after numerous due-process reminders? Who was checking? No “write-off.” Would they do this to private landlords?

Robinson-Regis had made similar complaints before. Forgiveness, like charity, has limits where public money is concerned. Set some badly-needed anti-corruption examples.

These are heavily subsidised housing to help ease the country’s housing and homeless challenges. Let the country know, from the top to bottom, that lawless actions have serious consequences. The extortionists, the home invaders and even gangsters apparently believe that “nothing will happen” afterwards.

Ms Robinson-Regis, quite commendably, seems determined now to stop the corrupt delinquency and put some required discipline and tenant responsibility into the HDC housing programmes.

But to what extent, really, should government be in a business with a bottomless pit? Further, these programmes have long been plagued by several related scandals, like back-room deals where some citizens pay and then fall prey to in-house scams.

Charge and prosecute now. Widespread allegations of political favouritism and nepotism also damaged public confidence in HDC, especially when hundreds of citizens have been waiting ten years or more for the opportunity.

The HDC pledges: “It is important for the HDC to protect the public interest and engender a sense of faith in its ability to fulfil its mandate.” The HDC and government will gain public respect if Ms Robinson-Regis continues to hold the unruly bull by its horns.

At the same time, Social Development Minister Ms Donna Cox made this explosive statement in Parliament: “There are areas of investigation by the ministry and TTPS that now require whistleblowers to come forward regarding fraudulent applications, misallocation of funds, conflict of interest in awarding grants, bribery, discrimination, nepotism.”

How many have been held?

She then made this hair-raising declaration: “Some supermarkets still give food-card holders alcohol and cigarettes.”

This, too, bluntly exposes our deeply-rooted culture of corruption, which continually seems to overcome government management.

Cox added, “Some of the fraud discovered include people with two food cards or people living in the US and collecting senior citizens’ pensions.”

But she had complained about such problems before. Why do they still persist? She, like Ms Robinson-Regis, must now take the unruly bull by its horns. Charge and prosecute.

Are the HDC annual reports audited? The country looks forward to HDC further reports and results.

These top-to-bottom welfare scandals cannot be excused by poverty or tolerated for narrow political reasons. It is the kind of downright dishonesty and corruption which has grown into a way of life in this country. Dependency has gone wild. Many citizens adopt the attitude that getting government (taxpayers') money or facilities is a “freeness” that must be surreptiously abused or wasted. In fact, there is also a culture of resistance to lawful correction.

And in these two instances – HDC and Social Development – the PM and his Cabinet should give full support to these two ministers.

However, the lingering question is: why did it take so long to identify and robustly tackle these glaring episodes of welfare corruption? Too much taxpayers’ money is being spent, wasted, and without the expected benefits.

Two weeks ago, former public utiiities minister and outgoing executive director of the IDB Robert Le Hunte, referring to the Caribbean, sagaciously noted:“While multinational development banks are willing to provide funding to countries, simply throwing money at problems does not necessarily solve them.”

He added:”The institutional capacity challenge in our region is severe and worsening each year.”

Such remarks fall directly in the garden of both Ms Robinson-Regis and Ms Cox. They and others in charge must work hard at getting their agencies to improve efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. And stop narrow politics from standing in the lawful way.

In fact, like Mr Le Hunte, three weeks ago, Dr Rowley himself regrettably complained about the vast amount of money spent on crime and national security without expected benefits. Ineffective performance and lack of accountability in state institutions are intrinsically linked to corruption.

That is why the country looks forward with hope to the efforts by Ms Robinson-Regis and Ms Cox.