The People’s National Party has condemned comments made by Abka Fitz Henley, accusing Opposition Leader Mark Golding of vulgar politicking for criticising the continued drawdown of National Housing Trust funds. 

The PNP asserts that what is “truly vulgar is the sustained assault” on the institution meant to deliver affordable housing and the blatant hypocrisy now on display by the Holness administration.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Housing Trust, yet the Prime Minister, in whose portfolio housing resides, has made no statement recognising this milestone or reaffirming the Trust’s founding purpose. Instead, Jamaicans face yet another proposed amendment to the NHT Act to facilitate further extractions,” the PNP said in a release.

Senator Floyd Morris, Opposition Spokesperson on Housing, stated that defending contributors’ money is not vulgar. “What is vulgar, he argued, is depriving working Jamaicans of their chance to own a home while billions are siphoned from the very institution created to help them.”

In 2013, then Opposition Leader Andrew Holness supported taking the then Government to court, arguing that the withdrawal of billions from the NHT for budgetary support violated the property rights of contributors.

He publicly committed to ring-fencing those funds exclusively for housing. Since assuming office, however, his administration has amended the law twice to extend annual withdrawals of $11.4 billion, enabling approximately $114 billion to be taken over the past decade.

“Proposals are now on the table to extract a further $57 billion over the next five years; this is blatant hypocrisy,” the party said.

Morris emphasised that the NHT belongs to its contributors and any government that raids it while failing to build affordable homes has no moral authority to lecture anyone about principle or decency. He described it as vulgar to sanction the pillaging of the institution meant to put a roof over the heads of those who need it most.

During this same period, Jamaicans have endured a deepening housing crisis, with this administration delivering the lowest level of affordable housing of any recent government.