The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH the government’s mortgage relief programme flopped before anyone received assistance, State Finance Minister Michael Halkitis said officials have not given up on the plan to assist homeowners.

Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Mr Halkitis said the Christie administration remains sensitive to the plight of struggling Bahamians who still need help. 

He said the government was now re-evaluating the inadequacies of the programme, which could have contributed to its failure.

“We see the challenges and are going back to the drawing board,” Mr Halkitis said, “And we are quite aware of the fact that people still need assistance with the mortgages for their homes.

“Knowing that, I have a meeting scheduled with my internal team (today) so we can see what the next steps are in trying to make this thing work. I’ll be able to tell you more when the meeting has taken place and we decide what we will do next.”

Mortgage relief had been a major pillar of the PLP’s 2012 general election campaign. However, last week, some were left confused after Prime Minister Perry Christie admitted disappointment that the plan did not pan out.

At the time Mr Christie said: “We’ve had a lot of preparation leading into this, the banks have sort of made adjustments themselves to try to keep their clientèle by giving greater allowances to people who are in default. And so, I think the programme has been a catalyst for things happening in the private sector.

“But with respect to the programme itself, I had anticipated myself the 400 who are qualified for assistance would have received it from us – so I’m disappointed two-fold really.”

When the programme was officially announced in September 2012, there were thousands of homeowners who were said to be behind on their mortgage payments. Mr Halkitis later said that after a process of elimination the number had been lowered to around 1,000 persons. 

As officials try to tackle another approach, the Free National Movement has insisted that the plan was “bogus” from the beginning.

Former Mortgage Corporation Chairman Dr Duane Sands said the creation of the initiative was only a public relations move for the PLP and was never intended to work.

The government continued with its mortgage relief efforts despite a scathing review of the plan by a top Wall Street firm last year.

Moody’s believed that the programme would undermine efforts to lower the more than $4 billion national debt. They warned that the mortgage relief plan would cost Bahamian taxpayers $250 million to implement.