Jearlean John is certainly turning out to be a breath of fresh air as an executive at a state-owned company. Recently appointed to the top job at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), she first focused her attention on stamping out the corruption at the country's largest housing contractor. That is an ongoing project which requires investigation followed by prosecution, as well as a change in the organisational culture. But on Wednesday, at a meeting at the San Fernando Central Secondary School, Ms John lived up to her no-nonsense reputation and signalled a change from the business-as-usual attitude which prevails among some public sector managers.
Taking the opportunity of addressing tenants from five HDC housing developments in south Trinidad, Ms John announced that the housing contractor was amending its policy towards repairs in rented HDC apartments. The HDC managing director described a situation where tenants would call on the corporation to change a light bulb or a window pane because this service had been provided free of charge to those who rent their HDC properties. Come April 1, this policy changes, according to Ms John, and the tenants would soon be required to make advance payments to the HDC before repairs are carried out. The policy is being changed despite the fact that the lease contracts that tenants are required to sign before they can occupy an HDC house states that repairs should be paid for by the tenant. It is surprising that such latitude has developed in the face of the contractual obligation.
While the HDC is right to strive for efficiency and cost limitation, the April 1 policy must take into account indigent families who simply may be unable to pay for the repairs to their rented homes. Tempering the ruthlessness of the private sector attitude with the leniency of the public sector should also influence the HDC's attitude towards tenants who are in arrears. It is completely unacceptable that working people should have so little regard for state property that they would simply refuse to pay the relatively small sums that the HDC charges its renters. Such deadbeat tenants should be given strict deadlines by which they would be required to make arrangements to eliminate the arrears or they should be required to vacate the apartments. Again, as in the case of the repairs, the HDC needs to be sensitive to the genuine hard-luck cases and must be discriminating in sifting the genuine cases from the fakers.
Underlying much of the complaints made by Ms John and past HDC executives is a peculiar attitude that some people in this country have to state-owned houses. There are clearly some people who feel that because apartments are owned by the State, the tenants need not bother themselves with looking after something as mundane as paying their rent. There are also some people who are filled with a sense of entitlement which leads them to believe that the State is obliged to repair their homes or provide them with one. As she works on changing the attitudes within the organisation, Ms John also has a fight on her hands to change the attitudes of other HDC stakeholders.
If she is serious, the new HDC boss would work on speeding up payments made by the corporation to contractors and sub-contractors. She should also move quickly to ensure that the Government fulfils its mandate by distributing all of the completed units as soon as possible. Also for the front burner should be a methodology for identifying and fixing the snags in these completed units before they are distributed. If Ms John can work on changing the culture inside and outside the HDC slowly over time, she would be responsible for contributing to a remarkable legacy in the provision of shelter in this country.