Gibbs pledges new focus on housing efficiency, upkeep

The new housing minister, Chris Gibbs, has used one of his first public appearances to signal a reset in housing policy, promising to overhaul the troubled HOPE programme and shift the National Housing Corporation (NHC) towards a maintenance-first mandate.

Gibbs, who replaced Dwight Sutherland following his resignation for undisclosed personal reasons, was delivering remarks at the TVET Council’s fourth Barbados Annual Construction and Design Conference (BACDC) at Sandals Royal Barbados, Maxwell, Christ Church, on Wednesday.

He sought to address two of the most closely watched issues in housing—the problem-plagued Home Ownership Providing Energy (HOPE) programme and the NHC’s role.

“HOPE is going to be an institution going forward that emphasises in the ministry partnerships in project management,” he said. “Before, HOPE was bogged down a lot in building, and some inefficiencies were created there.

But I think we have a good team now that is able to focus more on project management, to be able to deliver solutions to our people.”

The HOPE initiative, launched in 2018 to provide affordable housing solutions through public-private collaboration, has faced persistent criticism for delays, limited completions, and questions over financing arrangements. Gibbs acknowledged the “hot button topic” status of the programme.

Gibbs said: “I like to look at the glass half full, where we’re going to go forward and look for these solutions, partner with people, [we] talk about [public private partnerships], and forming partnerships with people and industries that have comparative advantage. The fact of the matter is that the government can’t do all. We are not experts at everything. But what we need to do is mine the industry, professionals that have the experience to be able to deliver those solutions so that we can have affordable housing for people.”

Turning to the NHC, Gibbs acknowledged that successive governments had fallen short in the critical area of maintenance. “The policy of the Cabinet and this government, and by extension the housing initiative, is that NHC will now be focussing on maintenance,” he explained. “As people we have to sometimes look in the rear view mirror to see where we have gone, what’s behind us, in order to see what’s ahead. So we haven’t had the greatest, as a government, track record of maintaining our properties.”

The NHC, which has historically borne responsibility for both the construction of new housing and the upkeep of existing estates, has long struggled with resource constraints, arrears in rental collections, and mounting costs of derelict units. Critics have argued that its dual mandate of building and maintaining has led to inefficiencies and overstretch. Gibbs signalled that a structural change is now under way.

“I feel as though NHC before was bogged down with both building, maintaining, and all these other responsibilities,” he said. “So why not segment the function of the different aspects of the ministry, so that we can be more effective. So NHC will now be more responsible for maintaining properties.”

Gibbs also suggested a two-tiered approach to building strategy—an industrial model for planning and design, supported by innovative techniques, and an artisanal model for routine maintenance and small works.

He said: “As we look to implement an industrial approach to building, the planning aspect of NHC can come to bear. So planning and design is where we can really work with industry providers to be able to implement more innovative building strategies. But we cannot forget the small man.

“In the maintenance, where we can have more of an artisanal approach to building. So the small contractors, the painters, the masons, the plumbers, we can engage in contracts with these individuals in order to maintain the government buildings, the estates, and we also have to deal with the derelict properties.”