NHT SCAMMING THE POOR?Some 20% of our population are squatters -Joseph Patterson

NHT SCAMMING THE POOR? Some 20% of our population are squatters living in some 700 informal settlements according to the Ministry of Water and Housing (MWH, 2008). The National Housing Policy Research (2008) revealed that we need to build 15,000 new units annually up to the year 2030 if we are to clear the housing deficit. However, between 1980 and 2012, the average annual production of housing was only about 5,000 in the formal sector (MWH, 2011). The truth is, the government is doing more harm than good to the poor they claim to love. The NHT is supposed to be a trust fund to house the poor, but it is actually a tax on the poor.  Over 440,000 contributors are on its books, but more than 330,000 (over 75%) have not, and will never, access a loan under the scheme. In fact, the NHT taxes the poorest among us. This slick tax trick gains political mileage for the politician by playing on the economic ignorance the people. Disguised as a “good government program,” the NHT has created a large pool of funds for the government (both JLP or PNP), which it may now us to pay the cost of its own corruption, waste and misappropriation. Unfortunately, almost everyone thinks the is doing them a favour with the NHT and other programs, when they would have been much better off if the government had stayed out of the housing business altogether. What we really need is a safe, clean and orderly environment. This would stimulate growth the the create jobs. We would then be able to buy our own homes without government “help” which is really no help at all. The UIC plan of good governance will create the economic growth we need so that Jamaicans can work, earn and buy the home they need. Join me and our General Secretary, Diana Hyman, this Sunday on the Caribbean Radio Show to learn more. Here’s the link: