Dear Editor,
I read with both shock and amusement a letter carried in the Friday, June 10 edition of the Kaieteur Newspaper which was purportedly written by staff of the Central Housing and Planning Authority.
Firstly, I must point out that while I served as Minister of Housing and Water every level of management and staff had input in the decision-making processes within the sector which in turn impacted our policies.
The fact that the current Minister Valrie Patterson-Sharpe is making core decisions in consultation and discourse with Denise Tudor and Mryna Pitt means that the entire organisational structure is being represented. After all Pitt is the Chief Executive Officer while Tudor is the Director of Land Allocation.
My advice therefore is that this cannot be a letter from CHPA staff. It sounds more like a letter from a disgruntled person who himself/herself is seeking power and influence as well as control in the entity and Ministry.
Housing is too important to the structure of our economy for the Minister not to get involved meaningfully in the decision-making process of the sector. She must continue to demonstrate competency and be visionary as well as dynamic for the sector to progress.
I therefore support the minister in any effort that will see the sector developing positively.
I also wish to commend the competent and professional technical and non-technical staff within the ministry for the role they play which cannot be viewed as miniscule from any standpoint.
No one is fooled by the content in that letter. I urge the alleged writer/writers to remove their masks and stand by their allegations publicly.
Irfaan Ali
Former Housing
Minister, PPP MP
