22nd August 2025
The Editor,
The State’s provision of affordable housing to low and middle-income applicants has been delivered primarily by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and, to a lesser extent, the Land Settlement Agency (LSA).
The current Housing Policy—”Showing Trinidad & Tobago a New Way Home“—was established in 2002 with the ambitious target of producing 100,000 new homes within a decade. Before the HDC was established in 2005, that role was fulfilled by the National Housing Authority (NHA), which was established in 1962. Despite allocations of public money and private sector borrowings exceeding $20 billion since 2002, the NHA/HDC completed less than 25,000 new homes.
Beyond the gross totals and their serious implications lies a more insidious issue: the actual effectiveness of this large-scale public housing program when we consider the human element. The HDC Act stipulates that its purpose as a statutory agency is to facilitate affordable housing for low and middle-income applicants. Yet over 90% of applicants on the HDC waiting list cannot qualify for a mortgage because they are simply too poor, while only 21% of new HDC homes are available for rent. Given the amounts of public money invested in this program and the desperate housing needs of our poorest citizens, this represents a tremendous misallocation of scarce resources.
The HDC’s low output compared to original targets, combined with its failure to serve the majority of applicants for affordable housing, constitutes a serious indictment of its performance.
Since 2003, NHA/HDC has not had audited Financial Statements, so there are substantial financial accountability issues in addition to those noted earlier. HDC stated that the financial statements for 2003 to 2009 were audited, but those financial statements were accompanied by Independent Auditors Reports, issued by KPMG Chartered Accountants, every one of which was subject to a Disclaimer of Opinion. The Disclaimer of Opinion is many times worse than a mere qualified audit since it means that the auditor has so little confidence in the records that it is impossible to form a responsible professional opinion.
During the recently concluded election campaign, I was astonished by Jearlean John’s promise to deliver 500 new homes per week and “…we are looking to build at least 10,000 houses per year…” if the UNC were elected. Ms. John served as HDC’s Managing Director from November 2009 to March 2016 and provided serious assistance to my public housing research during that period. There is no doubt that she is well-informed on these matters.
The Housing Ministry now has a Minister and two Ministers of State—a considerable commitment of political capital to this important public policy area.
We must avoid the errors of the past if we are to do better. If the newly elected UNC Administration wishes to succeed where others have failed, it must act fundamentally differently from the previous PNM government.
Afra Raymond
afraraymond.net
AfraRaymond.net 
Afra. The utterly ridiculous situation of pumping millions / billions of dollars in programme development notwithstanding the lack of audited financial statements for decades, must be stopped. We are throwing away vast financial resources.
It is shocking that various governments have spent $20Billion dollars to deliver 25,000 low cost homes at a unit cost of $800,000 per home!! No audited financial statements from large state agencies seems to be the norm. Why is government giving funds to these agencies without financial accountabiltiy? Was anyone fired and held accountable? The same situation exist at Caribbean Airlines!!!
If most of the people on the housing waiting list cannot qualify for a mortgage then we must build alternative housing which can be rented to these people. In addition why is the HDC building single family homes using scarce financial resourses and land. The answer is to build mutifamily housing. Single family homes is not the anwer. I remember a famous UNC Housing Minister saying that “people want a home with a front and back yard” but it is obvious they cannot afford a single family home.
Indeed, Kris – the very philosophy of the Housing Policy is in dire need of re-examination, with reference to the facts, of course!
Afra,
Each time I comment here is to espouse the fact that since 1492, we were invaded and most violently forced to learn European languages, adopt their vile lifestyles and submit to their capitalistic characteristics. They have modified grossly the vicious principles of hegemonic domination that left no stone bloodless, virtuous and or humble. It is almost impossible to locate a culture, touched by Europeans that can be described with positive, progressive adjectives.
The UNC, PNM and other Caribbean political, private, scholarly leaders and many parents subscribe to capitalism because we have little choice and sadly we do not seek alternatives because Europeans teach us that none exist and like their whitewashed God in heaven, we believe them.
In 1949, George Orwell published a novel called 1984 which, then as now describes war as peace, dictatorship as democracy, hell as heaven et al.
Yes, Chris, the tragic irony is that our national Housing program is one of the rare matters in which there exists an actual, if unspoken, consensus across political lines…I say tragic because in this case the program being executed does little to satisfy the needs of our poorest citizens…you see?
Like pension vs the cost of living which i remember being frozen by law on specific food products, bolstered by Buy Local ads and published each 5 years in a freely 5 year development programme text. That book was hundreds of pages bound with green covers and was easily accessible. I guess the poor must feed the rich or they may join us as Shadow sang Pressure in 1976.