The Bermuda Housing Corporation has been reformed, Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent said yesterday.

He called on the Opposition and the media to stop maligning the scandal-plagued quango and offer constructive input instead. "There are those in the community that refuse to accept or believe that a new day has dawned at the BHC... What has been happening at the BHC has been a refocusing on the critical issues that are integral to solving the housing challenges in Bermuda."

The Minister also revealed that the BHC's audited financial statements were now complete and up-to-date, and would be tabled before the House before the end of the Budget debate.

Speaking during the Budget debate on the BHC in the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr. DeVent updated MPs and the public on reforms taking place within the Government quango.

The Board of Directors, in conjunction with employees, had turned the Corporation around, he said. "The BHC is now a place where good corporate governance has been re-established and transparency has been restored."

An internal re-organisation last March left the 32 BHC employees divided into four departments: property operations, property development, support services, and finance and administration.

The property operations department consists of two sub-sections, maintenance and rentals. Outlining maintenance on BHC properties, Mr. DeVent said the quango continues to invite a broader cross-section of companies to bid on various BHC projects.

"Throughout the past year the BHC has continued the practice, implemented in 2003, of scrutinising and auditing contractor billings," he said.

Meanwhile the rentals sub-section houses 530 families in units maintained by the maintenance section, with 375 of those families new since 1999. Rentals also manage the waiting lists. Currently the overall waiting list consists of 240 applicants, with 59 of those on an emergency list.

The BHC also works with private sector landlords to provide affordable housing in the private sector rental programme, where the quango relieves landlords of the stress of managing their properties while ensuring rents are paid on time and that clients get access to properties they may not otherwise have been able to.

The property development department at the BHC is responsible for developing properties both for rental and for sale; while support services include management of emergency housing facilities, management and administration of the Bermuda Housing Trust properties, and management of a monthly client caseload dealing with issues such as money management, social assessment, housekeeping and assistance with employment, etc.

The BHC is engaged in an inter-agency partnership with other social service agencies to develop an effective programme addressing issues which contribute to or are symptoms of the housing problem. Such issues include effective parenting, conflict resolution skills, homekeeping skills, and other issues mentioned above.

The finance and administration department is made up of accounting and mortgages, the Minister said.

More than 700 mortgages are currently under management, with 154 totalling more than $16,000,000 held by the BHC and 540-plus guaranteed through the private sector.

Even with the BHC's more flexible requirements for a mortgage, there will be those who will not qualify, Mr. DeVent said. The mortgage officers at the BHC will advise them on their next move.

The revamped system at the BHC, with policies and procedures put into place providing checks and balances which either did not previously exist or were not adhered to, have left it near impossible for one individual to circumvent the system, he said. "There would have to be collusion touching on every level of management at the BHC for illegal and unethical acts to remain concealed."

Major contracts are tendered after contractors have gone through a qualification process and Board members remain involved, he said, among other checks. Inspections, project managers, and work with other agencies (including the Police) to improve pride and quality at BHC properties are all included on the list of reforms completed at the BHC. A Tenant Code of Conduct is in the works.

"The BHC has implemented other policies and procedures that, while not specifically raising points addressed by the Auditor General, contribute to the process of re-building the BHC."

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