NINE SACKED …from Central Housing over homes project fraud
Chairman of the Board of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Hamilton Green
Chairman of the Board of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Hamilton Green

By Ariana Gordon

THE contracts for nine persons attached to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) have been terminated by the board of that entity following alleged theft and poor quality work being done on the Ministry of Housing’s 1000 Homes’ project.Chairman of the Board of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Hamilton Green, in an interview with the Newsroom on Friday, said the nine persons — including an auditor and a finance director — were sent home because of the fraud.

“It is not a fraud per se,” said Green, who clarified that the decision to terminate the contracts resulted from “inappropriate work and action by staff.”

“Staff that had also involved…contractors who did very poor quality work and delivered shoddy houses to people,” the Chairman stated in the interview with the media house.

He said the Board has requested to know the amount lost due to theft or conspiracy, but those figures are not yet available.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Board does not have specific amounts in hand, based on what has been observed, Green believes the amount is substantial. He said that those found culpable have sought to blame the loss of revenue on vandalism and external forces.

“I am not God, I can’t say whether that is true or not,” he said. He noted that the new Board, upon installation, had been charged to ensure that citizens who have spent money to secure turnkey homes through the Government were given quality houses.

“That didn’t happen, and the team managing the project seemed to care less about the standard and quality,” he added.

Green said the Board received several complaints and reports of windows disappearing, theft, materials disappearing (cement, zinc sheets), malfunctioning doors etc.

“It is a horror story,” he said, as he noted that those sent home operated essentially on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) in the areas of Providence and Perseverance.

The Chairman noted that, during investigations, the Project Manager could not state who was responsible for the project; and in the end, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Myrna Pitt accepted responsibility for the project.
Pitt has since resigned from CH&PA and has made it clear that her resignation was voluntary. Her resignation becomes effective on July 13.

The CH&PA Board made it no secret that it was not pleased with Pitt’s performance, and has raised concerns about the 1000 Homes Project, the Remigrant Scheme and the management of the House Lot Distribution programme.

He said it is evident that those who worked on the project were prepared to continue “this inappropriate and unacceptable pattern of behaviour.”

“We found walls that were cracking, paint peeling, porous septic tanks, water in bathrooms that were going in the wrong direction, leaking roofs, doors that could not be functional, windows that were unsafe, sinks that could not be properly used in the kitchen,” he added.

The CH&PA, Green said, is in the process of hiring a “competent manager” for the project, and is also engaging the police to secure the properties, especially in the areas where many persons are not living.

He said that “ensuring security” means there would be less instances of theft and vandalism.

 

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