HOUSING Minister Ashfield DeVent came under fire from Opposition MP John Barritt yesterday for suggesting that people would not donate work and money to the Bermuda Housing Trust (BHT) nowadays.

Hefty rent increases introduced by the BHT in January ? some of the Trust's elderly tenants have seen their monthly rent more than double ? provoked lively discussion in the Budget debate on Wednesday night.

The Bermuda Housing Trust Act (1965) allows the Trust to raise funds from donations and in the past it had kept rents down for its senior citizen tenants by persuading professionals to donate goods and services at cost price or lower.

Mr. DeVent said that was something that could not be done in 2005.

"It's a different time," the Housing Minister said. "There was a time when Bermudians would build each other's houses. We gave our labour, but it no longer happens like it used to."

He said the days of people offering to do some painting for a day were gone and he added: "It's a part of us that we're losing."

Mr. Barritt, who has helped BHT tenants, some of whom live in his constituency, campaign against the rent increases, said yesterday he was shocked by Mr. DeVent's remarks.

"It's incredible that he should say such a thing," Mr. Barritt said.

And he criticised the BHT's board of trustees. "If they have not tried to get bequests and donations, should they be trustees?

"The more I hear, the more I think they've lost their way. And you can hardly expect people to continue to donate, when you don't explain how you spend the money."

In Parliamentary questions last week, Mr. Barritt asked Mr. DeVent if he would be prepared to table BHT accounts in the House of Assembly. The Minister responded that he was not obliged by law to do that and it was a decision for the trustees whether to make their accounts public. "I asked him to release the information so we can all see, understand and appreciate fully what is going on," Mr. Barritt said.

Former BHT trustee and ex-general manager of the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) Ed Cowen also expressed surprise at Mr. DeVent's remarks in the House about donations.

"That's rubbish and it's the talk of someone who is cornered and does not have a good answer," Mr. Cowen said. "Even if a person might not come down with a paintbrush to do some work, it would be possible to find people to provide the money to pay for that man to come down with his paintbrush.

"But nobody's going to give donations to a Government that does not provide you with financial accounts to let you know what's going on."

Rod Ferguson, Jr., son of the late former BHT chairman Roddy Ferguson, made an offer last month to assemble a new board of trustees who could offer professional services and goods at cost or lower. He was publicly backed by Island Construction boss Zane DeSilva, who said his company would be prepared to work with him and carry out jobs for the Trust at low cost.

During Wednesday night's debate, Mr. DeVent blamed mismanagement of the Trust under past United Bermuda Party governments for causing maintenance bills to mount in recent years.

"They (previous UBP administrations) failed miserably when it came to maintenance," Mr. DeVent said. "When someone inherits a building that has not been maintained, then they have to spend more money on it than if it had been regularly maintained."

He suggested that some BHT tenants were not the "needy elderly" that the Trust was set up to help.

And he added: "Just like we have some younger people who want something for nothing, we have some older people who try to work the system."

And he once more backed the Trust's rent increases.

"We are not evicting any of these seniors," Mr. DeVent said. "What we are saying is that we will raise rents and we will raise the quality of conditions they are living in.

"We are willing to work with those who can't afford to pay it. We hear that some people are too embarrassed to go to Financial Assistance. But there are some people who say they are embarrassed at the low rents they are paying."

Also in Parliament, Mr. Barritt called for Mr. DeVent to make public the financial statements of the Housing Trust to explain the reasons behind the rent rises.

Mr. Barritt said if a rent of $235 ten years ago had risen in line with the cost of living in Bermuda, it should now "not even be close to $400" ? well short of the $650 monthly rents that some tenants were being asked to pay.

"If the past policy was to have modest increases in rent, please explain to me why these large increases are being sought," Mr. Barritt said. "I keep hearing that it's construction costs and the cost of maintenance.

"I'm trying to find out the facts. What is the actual cost of maintenance and how has the money been spent on these properties?"

The has obtained documentation showing that the BHT had cash and deposit balances amounting to just over $1.7 million as of May 1997.

Nearly $1.1 million of this amount was in a single deposit account with a six per cent interest rate and maturing every two years.

In the House, Mr. Barritt said he understood the Trust had had close to $2 million in cash eight years ago and wanted to know if this ? plus the rental income ? had been used up on repairs over the last five years.

"These people may be old but they're not stupid," Mr. Barritt said. "Put the financial statements out there and explain how the money's been spent. That's the kind of transparency and accountability we'd like to see.

"I would have thought that, given that the Trust's money has been raised through donations and bequests, it would be perfectly in order to share that information. It's not something that should be hidden."

The Trust had been set up to fund new developments through donations and not rental income, Mr. Barritt said.

Mr. Barritt concluded: "Let's get back to what this Trust originally stood for. And if you can't do that, then get out of the way!"