Earlier on we told you that the London Court of International Arbitration had found that the government acted correctly when it took back the US$10 million in housing money from the Belize Bank. But right or wrong, it would have been tough to get it back from government, because most of that money has been disbursed in home improvement loans. The CEO gave us an update on the housing programme and just how much of the Venezuelan grant is left to be used.
Dwight Tillett, CEO – Ministry of Housing
“Well it started with eighteen and a half so if you take away, actually we’ve paid, when I say we have approved almost $6 million we haven’t disbursed that. We’ve disbursed almost $3 million because there is a process and sometimes the two things will never meet until we get to the end. But committed right now, absolutely committed that we cannot go back on, is almost $6 million which leaves us at $12.5 million.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“And this is all free money given to people, poor families?”
Dwight Tillett,
“This is correct. It is totally grants; there is are loans involved in this project at all. We have completed 24 houses, we have about 8 houses currently under construction and we have 20 that we are considering signing contracts this week for. Some representatives are choosing to build only houses, some are choosing to build houses and give grants and some are giving only grants and that is there prerogative.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“So families who are in need can still apply?”
Dwight Tillett,
“Absolutely. Every Belizean who has a need can still apply. The process is they go and see their area representative whoever that is and if they fill out the application form and he recommends that it goes to a committee, that committee approves it and stamps it and sends it to us and then we take care of getting the funds disbursed.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“And it is not actual money being given, it is in materials.”
Dwight Tillett,
“Money, the process involves preparing purchase orders which are submitted by major suppliers and some minor suppliers and then the area representative through his office or personally distributes those purchase orders so that the people can go to the stores and pick up their stuff.
We have a file for every person who has been approved. One of the problems I have had with trying to Venezuelans on other former projects done under the former government is that we cannot find any files, not even one, for some of the projects that they have asked us to produce evidence for. In this particular project there is a file for every single person who has been approved even if there are still in consideration.”
Tillett says presently over two and a half thousand persons have applied for housing improvement grants and forty for the construction of new homes. According to the CEO, one example where they have been ensuring transparency is that after an area representative has disbursed purchase orders, periodically inspection officers are sent to document the work being done and that report along with pictures are placed in each applicant’s file.
According to Dwight Tillett he has informed their Venezuelan counterparts that they can come in any day and do random checks to ensure that their grant is being spent on a housing programme for the poor.
