Morris: Stop raid the barn

Opposition Spokesman on Housing and Sustainable Living Senator Professor Floyd Morris is calling on the Government to stop what he describes as continued raids on the National Housing Trust (NHT), arguing that contributors’ funds should be used to build homes not prop up the country’s fiscal accounts.

His comments come after Minister of Finance and the Public Service Fayval Williams announced on Thursday that the Government would extract another $57 billion from the NHT over the next five years to sustain fiscal operations following Hurricane Melissa.

While tabling the Estimates of Expenditure and Revenue Measures in Gordon House, Williams said the National Housing Trust (Amendment) (Special Provisions) Act, 2020 provides for the entity to make a financial contribution of $11.4 billion annually for fiscal consolidation over a five-year period beginning in the 2021-22 financial year. She noted that the arrangement is set to expire on March 31, 2026, and warned that its expiration would result in a significant fall-off in government revenues.

“Given the impact of Hurricane Melissa on the island, continuation of these transfers across the medium term is necessary to support sustainability of the fiscal operations while reconstruction activities are undertaken,” she said, adding that the $11.4 billion annual transfer would continue for another five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31.

But Morris strongly objected to the move, insisting that the NHT’s resources belong to contributors and should be directed towards expanding the housing stock.

“The Government need to stop raid the barn,” he told The Gleaner.

Morris said that the current administration is now in its tenth year of extracting $11.4 billion annually from the Trust, bringing the total taken for fiscal support over the last decade to $114 billion.

“If you add the three years that the People’s National Party took money from the NHT, that would be another $34.2 billion,” said Morris, noting that the cumulative take from the housing entity was $146.4 billion.

He argued that while the People’s National Party had taken $34.2 billion during its tenure, it did not intend for the withdrawals to become a long-term feature of public finance.

“But this has now been institutionalised by this Government,” he added.

Morris also criticised the administration for what he described as a lack of respect for the housing entity’s legacy. Referring to the Throne Speech outlining the Government’s legislative agenda for the new parliamentary year, he said he was stunned that there was no mention of the NHT’s 50th anniversary.

According to Morris, he listened to the delivery of the Throne Speech yesterday, which highlights the achievements, policies and legislative plans of the Government for the new parliamentary year.

However, the opposition spokesman said he was startled that the speech did not contain “even one line about the 50th anniversary of the NHT that has done so well for this country”.

The NHT, which began operations under former Prime Minister Michael Manley on January 1, 1976, has, according to Morris, transformed the country’s housing landscape.

“Fifty years NHT has changed the face of Jamaica in terms of the housing stock – and not one word – it is scandalous! It is despicable what has taken place,” Morris said.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com