Clarke: NHC housing solutions out of reach

MEMBER of Parliament for St. George North, Gline Clarke, has given the Ministry of Housing and the National Housing Corporation (NHC) a failing grade for keeping housing solutions out of the reach of the poor in Barbados.

Clarke, a former Minister of Housing, was speaking on a Land Resolution in Brighton Plantation in St. George when he charged that Government went against their promise to keep land at $5 per square foot.

This, he said, comes even though the Crown purchases the land, gives it to the NHC, which only has to pay development costs. To this end, he said it is incredulous that land in Constant in St. George or Parish Land is being sold at $20 per square foot.

“We need to send a signal to the NHC that nobody today can own property; the NHC has gone astray,” he stated, charging that persons must be receiving a salary of between $3 000-5 000 to be able to afford these properties. This, he said, while there are still some Barbadians working for less than $200 per week.

Clarke also pointed to a 2016 report from the Auditor General, which stated that 47 per cent of its residents are in arrears. He noted that residents at Valerie are being charged $700 while the Grotto $850, challenging that at London Bourne Towers, persons pay less than $100 per week.

To this end, he challenged that the rates should be changed.

Additionally, he drew attention to the residents at Constant, St. George, whom he said are forced to pay $100 per month to have their sewage collected from the sewage system servicing the area. He said $1 200 is an exorbitant fee and challenged that other persons who are tapped into sewage systems in the south and City do not have to foot such a bill.

Clarke also called for clarity on the Rent-to-Own concept, charging that by setting a price and the period in which the tenant must repay is disqualifying a number of persons in the process, particularly young persons who would be able to pay over a longer period.

He also stated that there is a need for a new vision for St. Michael, saying several agencies have failed the people in this parish. He noted the level of poverty being seen is reminiscent of the 1950s. (JH)

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