A war of words between Government and the One Bermuda Alliance about a planned housing project in the West End continued yesterday.OBA MP Mark Pettingill demanded that Government justify the size of the 100-unit project; Progressive Labour Party candidate Vance Campbell insisted the Bermuda Housing Corporation had a long list of people in search of affordable housing.“The marketplace does not provide sufficient housing to meet the needs of all the families who are struggling to manage and contain the cost of providing themselves with affordable shelter,” Mr Campbell said.“If the Government is fulfilling a need that is not being met by the market, how then can it be in competition, direct or otherwise, with the landlords in the market?”Construction of the $36 million housing project is expected to begin this summer. It aims to replace the more than 140-year-old homes at Victoria and Albert Row, with 100 prefabricated units.Both Government and the OBA agree that something needs to be done with the ageing buildings, however the OBA has criticised the scale and financing of the project. The party also maintains current residents would be unable to afford the new rent more than twice the amount they now pay.The Opposition has further claimed that Government entered into a secret deal with US company Clark Construction LLC, selected to prefabricate the structures.Those claims were refuted by Public Works Minister Michael Weeks. He insisted no contracts were signed and Wedco was driving the scheme.Said Mr Pettingill: “It is a rubbish to say this is not a Government project.“The Government controls Wedco and the fact that Minister Weeks has been front and centre announcing the Ireland Island housing project says all you need to know about the role Government sees for itself in this. In making the disclaimer, the Government is trying to avoid public scrutiny. It is astounding to me that the Government is now trying to distance itself from being involved.“All political parties support better housing for people in need, but the OBA reserves the right to ask how that housing is going to be built. Is taxpayer money being wisely spent? Are decisions on who is selected to build the project openly and fairly arrived at? Are people being inconvenienced? Are affected residents being consulted?”He said that Government and Wedco need to explain how Clark Construction was selected and explain why they are building 100 units to replace 48.“The Government also needs to justify the size of the project,” Mr Pettingill said. “A hundred new housing units in a market that has a massive glut of empty apartments and houses across the Island looks like a plan that did not take into account market conditions.“These are fair questions in the absence of clear information. This is, after all, a $36 million project. And after years in which the Government squandered tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on capital projects, the questions are appropriate.“There is nothing wrong with questions. They are part of open, transparent government. It may seem messy at times and troublesome for the government that has to answer them, but that’s democracy. The Government just has to answer them.”Mr Campbell, the PLP candidate for Smith’s West, said it was wrong to say the new units would compete with privately owned housing units.“For the OBA to remark that the Government has entered into direct competition with private sector landlords through projects such as the 100 homes planned by Wedco is misleading and, at best, demonstrates a lack of understanding of the dynamics of the local housing market,” he said.Mr Campbell, a former BHC general manager, said that in his experience many landlords were not willing to rent to BHC clients, or were not prepared to lower their rents to meet the needs of the demographic. He said part of the reluctance may come due to the notoriety of a minority of clients, who make things more difficult for the majority, who he said were respectable tenants.There are currently 236 names on the BHC waiting list, he added.“It would appear that, under the OBA, the housing plan for these individuals and families would be one that throws them into the marketplace that has historically failed them.“Fundamentally, this is a question of values. The PLP has dramatically expanded the number of affordable housing units and introduced geared-to-income housing because we are on the side of struggling Bermudians.”