THE EDITOR, Sir:
IT SEEMS the National Housing Trust (NHT) has quite a bit of money in reserve. Before any borrowing or giving away of such resources, it would have been useful if the NHT checked its records to see how many people on its record have contributed to the Trust and have never received any of the meagre refund they are entitled to.
Some time ago as as a teacher in Jamaica, I sought to get some of the refund due to me. But as you know taking money from PAYE workers is easy like ABC, but getting it back you need to be a rocket scientist or know somebody somewhere. The less educated have little or no chance and there are quite a few in that category that the NHT has not failed to collect from through the easy collection process but have forgotten to make a refund.
When I tried to get some refund from the NHT, having been employed since 1983 via the Ministry of Education, I was told that the Education Ministry, from which some teachers are directly paid, has not consolidated its records. Thus, until that is done I can get no refund. I guess there is no urgency to do such consolidation, seeing that I was not one of those overpaid teachers that the Government, which has a deeper pocket than me, wants to retrieve its money from.
I wonder how many others are in such category as at times I am left to believe the Education Ministry does not know its head from its tail. I guess there are many other workers in various sectors within Jamaica who are faced with the same dilemma.
No mention is made of the number of persons and the amount that may be due under the refund process. The Opposition seems unaware or unconcerned as they, too, fall under a category of workers who may not need such refund or know how to get it, rather than going through any bureaucratic process.
Yes, the NHT has millions in reserve which it may eventually give away. At least it would be kind to ensure that many who contribute, some who will never get benefit because of the level of income, or those who get the benefit and will never be able to pay off their loan in a lifetime, could at least be blindfolded with the little refund.
It would be interesting to hear publicly (in Parliament) how much refund the NHT has paid out, how much it has failed to pay out each year against those who should be entitled to such payment, then calculate how much there is in reserve.
I am just asking the NHT to balance its books across the board.
I am, etc.,
DEON P. GREEN
greenyranks@yahoo.com
London
Via Go-Jamaica
