Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell has for the first time admitted in public that there is corruption with government’s housing project in the wake of the widespread destruction of Grenada’s housing stock following the passage of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.

In a national broadcast to Grenadians, Dr. Mitchell spoke of some persons who did not have any houses prior to Ivan getting homes while those whose houses were destroyed by the hurricane did not receive any assistance.

The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been calling on the ruling New National Party (NNP) government for transparency in its housing project.

The Prime Minister now admits that there has been “serious pockets of unfairness in the distribution” of housing relief supplies to the needy.

“We know of needy persons in St David's, St Andrew’s, St John’s and St George’s who failed to get help while better-off persons received help. Even persons who did not own houses managed to squeeze through the system and received assistance”, he said.

“Those problems have compromised the effectiveness of the reconstruction effort and have undermined the sacrifices made by people who are willing to contribute to the Reconstruction Fund to rebuild Grenada”, he added.

Following is an edited version of the address delivered to the Nation on November 21 by Prime Minister Mitchell:

Sisters and Brothers, we are all familiar with the devastation caused by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily. And we are still acutely aware of the loss of life and the costly damage that Grenada sustained in the areas of Housing, agriculture, education, business, and the development of the private sector.

Sisters and Brothers, I am particularly concerned about the people whose homes were severely damaged or completely lost, especially those whose properties were uninsured or under insured. Most of these people do not have the financial resources to repair their houses on their own.

Conscious of these problems, Government sought assistance from neighbours and friends around the world and immediately launched an ambitious campaign, “Build Back Better”, to provide housing for tho se who could not help themselves.

So far, we have provided several hundred houses to the most needy, and building materials to more than 7,000 vulnerable families.

The government through the Housing Authority has also provided soft loans to some persons throughout the length and breadth of Grenada for home repairs at very low interest rates.

Sisters and Brothers, Government has committed major resources to help the people of our beautiful country rebuild their homes. So far, we have spent considerable sums, and we intend to spend even more to overcome the difficulties of our citizens.

Since Ivan, I have constantly stressed that housing, particularly housing for the needy, is a top priority of Government. It is on that basis that Government empowered Housing Committees, chosen by the people in each constituency, to determine and meet individual needs in each area.

Most of these committees have functioned well, but some of them have had multiple problems.

Regrettably, a few Housing committee members have lost sight of the committee’s goals and deviated from the criteria set by the Government to select the beneficiaries of the program. Additionally, some persons within the system interfered and altered the decisions made by the Housing Committees.

In key areas there were breakdowns in expenditure and control, and in selection of beneficiaries. In the latter case, there were serious pockets of unfairness in the distribution. Consequently, many of the needy were denied help.

We know of needy persons in St David's, St Andrew’s, St John’s and St George’s who failed to get help while better-off persons received help. Even persons who did not own houses managed to squeeze through the system and received assistance.

Those problems have compromised the effectiveness of the reconstruction effort and have undermined the sacrifices made by people who are willing to contribute to the Reconstruction Fund to rebuild Grenada.

Reports of these abuses and inefficiencies in the system have caused the Minister of Housing and me great concern and pain. I know that the Minister has made tremendous efforts and sacrifices to deal with these problems as have many of the staff members within the Housing Authority and the Ministry of Housing

Government will not allow these practices to continue. Already, it has instructed that a comprehensive review of the system be carried out and that all new projects be put on hold.

In our review, we intend to highlight areas of inefficiency and abuse, examine the manner in which needs assessments were conducted, and identify obstacles that are preventing allocated resources from reaching people who are truly in need of help. Solutions will then be put in place to correct those problems.

Funds for the Revised Programme will be placed under the Prime Minister’s Ministry but implementation will be through the Housing Authority, The Ministry of Housing, the ARD and the Prime Minister’s Ministry.

The programme which will be funded in the 2006 Budget will ensure that a more efficient Housing Assistance Programme is put in place – more houses for the needy; a more effective and accessible soft loans programme; an inbuilt mechanism to guarantee assistance to the destitute, the aged, single mothers and the physically challenged.

Let me stress that housing projects already under construction will continue. They will not be stopped.

In the new programme, the housing project funded by the Government of Venezuela will continue and new housing projects provided by the Governments of China, Chile and Thailand will provide houses for over 3,000 Grenadians.

These projects will need to be undertaken on a revised basis, taking into consideration the social and economic circumstances of individual beneficiaries. These projects will also generate much needed employment for many people.

While we recognise that there continues to be those in dire need of assistance, we also recognise that there are more people who can help themselves or who can make a contribution, financial and otherwise, to the cost of getting a house.

Let me end by expressing Government’s belief that it has taken the right decision to restructure the housing programme and reconfirm its singular commitment to meet the housing needs of its people.