Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

Maureen Webber - Andrew Smith /Photography Editor

The new head of the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC), Maureen Webber, is insisting that the agency is not out of funds.

"The NHDC is not broke," asserted Ms. Webber. She was responding to queries by Wednesday Business yesterday regarding the financial status of the organisation after rumours surfaced that it was struggling to pay its bills and contractors.

The NHDC at present owes one of its chief lenders, the National Housing Trust (NHT), approximately $2.5 billion. The NHDC chairman, however, refused to comment on the status of the agency's cash flow, but pointed out that it was making payments to the NHT.

"We are making our payments to NHT," she said, noting that it was typical of businesses in Jamaica to experience cash-flow problems.

Managing director of the NHT, Earl Samuels, told Wednesday Business that the payments did not come from the NHDC's recent sale of approximately 486 hectares of land in Point, Hanover, valued at $845 million to the Trust.

The NHDC was established in 1995 to implement the Govern-ment's Operation PRIDE projects across the island which provides low-income housing mainly to persons who would not normally qualify for housing or loans under the NHT.

Loans

However, in 2001, Wednesday Business understands, the corpora-tion received loans of $1.1 billion, payable over a 15-year period at an interest rate of eight per cent per annum from the trust, and a further $800million in 2002 to be used to provide housing solutions for beneficiaries under the Operation Pride portfolio. Based on the terms of the loan, the NHDC is to pay an instalment of $8,695,856 per month.

But Samuels said "they owe us approximately $2.5 billion, comprising five or six loans and are at various stages of arrears."

Although the development corporation is not subsidised by the Government, the Ministry of Finance and Planning has been securing the loans on behalf of the NHDC through financial advances and letters of under-taking to repay the loans in case it forfeits. In a few cases, the ministry secured the loans from NHT with the transfer of mortgages on the Greater Portmore portfolios and duplicates of title certificates on the Greater Portmore houses.

susan.gordon@gleanerjm.com