Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley strongly defended Government’s decision to immediately implement the policy that only those who live in households where the total income is less than $25,000 will be able to apply for an HDC home.
A previous income ceiling of $45,000, introduced in February 2014, has been revoked.
Rowley also called on the private sector to step up and do its part in the provision of housing.
The PM made the comments as he fielded comments from the media after presenting instruments of appointments to members of the Economic Advisory Board at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, yesterday.
Saying there was a “big problem” in the country regarding the shortage of housing Rowley said: “The question is what exactly is the size of the role in housing the State should play here. Who should the State should be helping and what should that help be?
“Government assistance comes in the form largely of subsidised housing and that subsidy, overtime, has moved from a small amount of dollars to one where the State had much more money to fund a programme to the tune of a $1 billion a year.”
He said that resulted in the cost of the programme escalating beyond the Government’s means and the role of the State had also changed.
He added: “By raising the ceiling as to who qualified for subsidised housing we have moved the policy away from the core business... being providing affordable housing... lower and middle income housing... to open the door for what cannot by any stretch of the imagination be deemed to be lower and middle income earnings.
“So we have brought the ceiling back to $25,000 a month as against $45,000 because it is our view there is a significant role for the private sector in the provision of housing.”
He said for those whose income was above $25,000 it was “expected” that their housing needs would be found in the private sector.
“The Government will do whatever it can to facilitate and encourage the private sector to get back in and to continue building houses so that the whole spectrum of needs can be met,” Rowley added.
Asked how many people would now be deemed ineligible due to the change Rowley said he did not know.
“Whatever it is, that’s what it is because the policy is the State ought not, especially in strained circumstances where money is scarce, to set about to provide subsidised housing for the upper income persons in the country. It just does not make sense. It just is not fair,” Rowley added.
On the argument that the $45,000 would be applicable to middle income households Rowley said that also made no sense.
“The average person... the average household income in this country is well below $25,000 a month. Given the income spread in the country $45,000 a month cannot be deemed in the middle. We have to understand what we are dealing with,” Rowley said.
He said when he was housing minister in 2003 there were some 40,000 applicants on the list.
“That was a huge number and we set about to try and solve it but we are hearing now the figure is approaching 200,000 and if you understand there is some double counting in there, so let’s say 150,000.
“But the policy as it exists now that the Government was setting about to provide housing for everybody is not a serious approach,” Rowley said.
Regarding steps to increase the housing stock Rowley advised to “do more with less.
“An affordable house in an affordable programme where the houses are costing $1 million... you off on the wrong foot right there. Eradicate corruption and similar kinds of negatives, try to do with what is most available but more importantly focus on the needs of those who need help the most and certainly persons in the upper income bracket are not the persons who should be getting subsidised housing,” Rowley added.
On claims made by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar that he was avoiding parliamentary sittings so as to elude questions Rowley said he would be happy to answer any questions the former prime minister may have.