Housing Minister Says Procurement Changes Will Improve Housing Delivery
Minister of Housing Dr David Lee says upcoming legislative changes to the procurement process are expected to streamline project delivery and support the development of more homes in Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaking during an inspection of the Housing Development Corporation’s Canopies at Caura project in Tunapuna on Tuesday, the Minister said the reforms are also expected to improve opportunities for home ownership.
« Tomorrow in the Parliament the changes that will be taking place in the procurement legislation is critical not only for delivering homes but delivering proper governance to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. »
As he prepared to tour 100 townhouses in the final stages of completion, Minister Lee highlighted the substantial number of citizens on the waiting list for government housing, underscoring the continued need to expand the national housing stock and increase access to affordable homes.
« We have a waiting list of 100,000-plus people who are waiting on homes. We have a dispensation. We have a mandate led by the honourable Prime Minister, led by the honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, to deliver homes for the people of Trinidad and Tobago, and we will not play politics in delivering homes to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. »
The Housing Minister also expressed concern about the way in which the HDC was being managed when he took over the Ministry in 2025.
« There were some sites, some HDC development sites that proper mortgages were not done, proper vestation of lands were not done, people were not able to get their mortgages properly to be able to pass on to their children or their families. A lot of the sites, the land still has to be vested. A lot of these sites we have home ownership association problems. »
He noted that residents of this latest housing development would not have that issue.
« On this site, what Mr Khan did with the team, before we gave out the mortgages, we ensured, as a government, that the lands that we’re here on are properly vested in HDC so we can then properly vest those lands in the proper mortgages for these townhouses. »
The Canopies at Caura is a residential Housing Development Corporation project situated near the Caura Hospital.
