Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

THE BOARD of the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC) intends to dig for evidence of corruption and impropriety in the management of Operation PRIDE projects.

Housing Minister Dr Horace Chang said at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House yesterday, that forensic audits are to be undertaken to determine the reason the PRIDE programme racked up more than $8 billion in losses.

"The board (of the NHDC) has taken a decision to do forensic audits of a number of the projects and, therefore, we should be able to get some more hard evidence that we can take to the public and possibly court," Chang said.

The Programme for Resettlement and Integrated Development Enterprise (PRIDE) was a housing project undertaken by the People's National Party (PNP) government, which held state power between 1989 and 2007. The project was set up in 1994 to provide low-income houses and regularise squatter communities. Chang noted that the cost to taxpayers was tremendous and that its implementation may have involved corruption.

"PRIDE is a programme on which the Government spent some $8.5 billion, most of which we cannot recover. It is contributing to losses at the (National) Housing Trust and it wiped out the capital reserve of the National Housing Corporation entirely," Chang said.

A huge loss

He added: "It is a lot of money that has been lost. It is not only a matter of creating some excitement around money lost or opening up another scandal.

"The concept of PRIDE was laudable. What happened was that a lot of mistakes were made ... a lot of wrong decisions and we can learn significantly by reviewing that," the minister said.

East Kingston businessman and contractor Danhai Williams is among seven defendants accused of defrauding the NHDC under the Operation PRIDE project.

Also charged along with Williams are Carl Kirkland, an employee of Williams' Danwill Construction Company; Warren Sibbles, the former director of technical services at the NHDC; Wayne Nash, chairman of the St Benedicts Heights Provident Society in St Andrew; Eujenny Porter, representative of the Melbrook Heights Provident Society, St Andrew; Donovan Hill, a member of the Riverton City Provident Society, Kingston and Dwight Dawkins, chairman of the Morant Farm Provident Society, St Thomas.

The trial will begin in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on April 2.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com