Comments on: The housing conundrum

By: Former Citizen

Former Citizen — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 13:10:30 +0000

Its interesting to read your analysis Dr Shah. Fortunately I left Trinidad more than 25 yrs ago and have been looking back at my home country for decades. I can certainly say that there has been no improvement in the lives of the everyday trini in that time.
The current generation seems to have no ability to come up with new ideas to move the country forward…not to mention the Government which sadly seems downright incompetent.
Your Members of parliament have no ideas that can create change in the country, and if you keep electing people like that Trinidad & Tobago is doomed for the foreseeable future.

By: Observer

Observer — Sat, 30 Jun 2018 02:05:52 +0000

Lt. Shah I must commend you for your description of the housing situation in Trinidad and Tobago. I am fed up of hearing people saying “ah want a house” as if a house is a “hops bread”. Why must the citizens provide a large section of the population with “ah house”. In other countries governments do assist the poor and under-priviledged with some form of housing. But this type of housing is mainly multifamily buildings with fair sized apartments units. In Trinidad the government want to give every citizen a small house on a lot of land. We are a small country and we cannot fill the landscape with small houses dotting the island. We will run out of land. In many countries of the world large apartment buildings are built to accommodate the low income citizens. Citizens who can afford to buy land and construct a house a assisted with mortgage protection etc. One silly politician from the last government stated that Trinidadians want a house with a front and back yard but it must be free from the government (the people of Trinidad and Tobago)

The cost of building houses must be reviewed. The local contractors and workers are over charging for building houses. Labour inefficiency is a big problem. Why must a small 30X50 flat house cost over $400K to $500K. Trinidad homes are just walls, roof, windows and floor. No central heating and cooling systems, double walls to keep the cold weather out. No climate control systems etc.

The mandate of HDC should be changed to facilitate the housing industry not to give out billion dollar contracts for substandard housing. Ripoff and fraud is the order of the day. The government should get out of the housing business and give the private sector more incentives to build more multi-family buildings. People must pay for the housing provided to them by the citizens of TT. There are cases where people wait all their lives for an HDC house and get it eventually when they retire. They do not save with the objective of paying for a house. They spend all their money on fetes etc.

I know this will not happen since the politicians see the HDC as an instrument for giving friends and family huge contracts. Also to give out housing for election favours.

There must be a change in policy of the government to solve the housing problem in TT.

By: Cacaholio

Cacaholio — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 11:48:29 +0000

Sita Ram,
Yuh uncle Caca know yuh is a honest Bhaiyaa,Leh we see which pick ah pan you choose, Shah is short for Shahukar in the old languge which is the Hindustani and Urdu word for Honest.

Reader we can trust him.

This article you have written here is gold, it explains the cycle of life in T&T and the idiosyncrasies that accompany the idiots who could fete more than you and I but renting or living with their parents or are lochos off Guavament housing by not paying the $100 a month rent.

Raffique I does scrapegoat when I cutting the grass for the neighbor to pass with the pitch fork and it stop bawling certain politicians names.

A certain segment of the population is perturbed by the Misandry of the Millennial women in Political power in the past under Kamla’s hoehum approach to dealing with national issues and we don’t mind when the little black boys getting their money back eh from all the bobol contractors and the incumbent PNM stallwarts with the expensive cars and Yachts.

*places index finger on temple like Generation Malcom X*.

Aye the 100,000 Hovel dwellers could move out to Guave and build a 20’X 15′ mud house city with government approvals and private sector waste with a carat top and bathe when it raining.

Think of it as a experimental earthship housing using the same recyclable plastic coke bottle and rum bottle that dey wele wele and fete dey life away with as the foundation for their new life and home.

The truth is the more dem Trini leave to explasiate in NYC and claim they rubbing shoulders with celebrities when in truth they rubbing Manhattan toilet bowls and ironing boards and digging trench full of Times square Desmond Tutu and Valet parking my hotel reservation yuh uncle Caca and the Crossway Chinee beti and the Dougla Syrian French fries with a little curry sauce on the side anxiously rub our hands together on the up coming feast.

Peace out
Drops Mic…..
Dons Superman cape…