The Editor, Sir:

Please allow me to join the National Housing Trust (NHT) debate. They have come under heavy criticism for building only 150,000 houses in its 30-year history.

Let us pause for a moment and look at some facts.

At 150,000 in 30 years, this turns out to be 5,000 houses per year.

Assuming three persons per household (the real figure could be more), this means 15,000 persons received housing solutions per year from the NHT. The figure would be 450,000 in 30 years.

At our current population of 2.5 million, the NHT provides total shelter for about 18 per cent or about one in five Jamaicans.

They provide loans for housing repairs and build-on-own land. It is not clear if the 5,000 houses per year include the build-on-own land figure. If this is additional then the picture would even be better for the trust.

Whenever we think of the 1970's, the NHT is one of the bright lights from the era. We miss the point by saying that most people will never receive a loan from the NHT.

Institutions like the NHT fall into the category of those that deal with the principle of 'fractional reserve'. This principle is used by banks, building societies and insurance companies.

This means the amount of money in the system can never provide benefits for everyone. For instance, an insurance company could NOT survive if everybody makes a claim.

I am, etc.,

RADCLIFFE ROBINSON

rrr115@hotmail.com

Toronto, Canada

Via Go-Jamaica