Dear Editor
I READ a piece in the newspapers this week. It had to do with the Department of Housing. Minister Valerie Patterson said that her ministry will reclaim large portions of land given away to alleged investors by the PPP, but left idle for years or used for speculative purposes.

Now this is good news, as there are literally thousands of applicants awaiting allocation for house lots. Many of them possess the ability to build their own homes, notwithstanding the many dishonest and sometimes incompetent people who pose as contractors.
The ball is now therefore in government’s court to not only retake these lands, but to also begin an earnest programme to reallocate these to address the large backlog of people waiting to build their own homes. The proof of the taste of the pudding is in the eating, so the saying goes.

The trouble here is that the coalition does not seem to remember that happy people are usually eager to turn out and vote, so it might well be in the government’s interest to get this out of the way as soon as possible, rather than allow another bureaucratic hurdle to prevent lots from being allocated.

I know of at least a dozen young people in my working environment, some planning to marry and begin families in the coming months, who are waiting for allocations but are becoming frustrated through the slow pace by the ministry. It might, therefore, do the coalition a whole lot of good if this exercise can begin shortly and proceed with speed and alacrity. Those in power must remember that general elections are less than two years away and that the cabinet must be able to boast about its actual achievements rather than promises. Low-cost housing construction and house lot allocation can easily be counted as achievements by any government.

Regards
Dillon Goring