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Over the last 3 months, I've been managing land that my father left behind. During this time, I've been asked to write 2 letters to the Housing and Development Corporation (HDC) for tenants so that they could get financial assistance in getting their homes repaired. This, of course, I did - but the second letter got some more attention when the tenant mentioned to one of the HDC people that the land was in dispute. It really wasn't, my father had some legal cases in court at the time of his death - but the reaction by the HDC was that they needed a copy of my deed.

Apologetic, the tenant and his wife who reside on my land explained this to me. I smiled. This was an opportunity. I'd get to see what the HDC really does, what it will do and what it won't do. This was an invitation.

Rather than giving the tenant a copy of my deed, I drove one up with a copy of my deed to see what this was about. After all, I'd written two letters - and some other people might not even know about the HDC's projects. Being better versed on HDC simply makes sense - many people don't know about these projects. I know I didn't prior to the requests for letters. When I asked both people who received letters how they had found out about the projects, I was not too surprised to find out that they had found out about them at People's National Movement (PNM) Constituency meetings. Trust the politrickians to selectively disseminate information... South Oropouche is an Opposition (UNC-A) stronghold...

Unfortunately, for reasons that defy reason, one cannot simply go to a branch office that is closer to where one is - one is forced to go to Port-of-Spain. This is a symptom of just about any government office in Trinidad and Tobago - the fact that they are so disconnected from the areas that they are supposed to service despite branch offices in the same areas.

And so, Taran went to Port-of-Spain - as much as he hates going through the olfactory and visual disaster of Port-of-Spain, the center of Trinidad and Tobago's power and authority over the majority of the island... where the presence of vagrants, crime and litter speaks with a louder voice than any politrickian in the Red House. Can you tell that I do not like Port-of-Spain?

And so, with rain clouds dancing above Central and North Trinidad, I found myself on the way to the HDC head office in Port of Spain.

The Visit

The visit surprised me. Despite the fact that I had to pay for parking, the office building itself featured security and a clean environment inside. Outside, of course, was another story. The receptionist on the top floor was quick to help; the person who was handling the particular case was very informative and quick to help. I was impressed with the human side of things at the HDC; the people there really did seem to want to help. My expectations that were derived from visits to other government run projects were scattered to the four winds (which probably explains the smell in Port-of-Spain).

Within an hour, we were out the door. The tenant had some more work to do on their proposal, but I had walked away learning a lot more about what the HDC does and how it does it.

What I Learned: Home Improvement Subsidy Programme

We were there about the 'Home Improvement Subsidy Programme' - something which permits people up to $15,000 TT (roughly $2,300 US) to continue work on their house. As it was explained, it was for immediate improvements which would have an immediate impact on the quality of life. The programme requires that the applicant has started a project and needs to finish it.

It is a simple programme designed for relief of immediate concerns, and requires a site visit by an HDC representative - perhaps one area where corruption could be possible - but the materials and labo(u)r have to be accounted for. Even when a project is a self-help project, 40% of the cost of materials is used as the cost of labor. Not really a bad deal for people who really need it.

The representative I spoke with mentioned that she encountered problems with husband and wife having different ideas of the project - something which, in retrospect, would be foreseeable - as well as people believing that the project is for starting projects. It is not. It is for finishing projects.

There are difficulties with the system, as I mentioned before. People from all over Trinidad must go to Port-of-Spain, something which on the surface made little sense to me. However, given the personal nature of the project and interviews, I can see why there is a centralized location. Why that centralized location is on one side of the country may well have something to do with it's lack of penetration in the outlying areas - where the most help would be needed.

The HDC Web Presence

Today, in looking for information, I quickly found the Ministry of Planning, Housing and Environment at http://www.housing.gov.tt/. Unlike other government websites in Trinidad and Tobago, it does have a lot of information. Like other government websites, it is difficult for someone looking for information to figure out what the HDC does. This criticism reflects poor design based on how the site would be used; it seems to have been designed in a vacuum with the only requirement being that 'the information be on the site' rather than 'the information be useful on the site'.

Something I found amusing is the fact that the people who need the most help probably don't have/cannot afford internet access - and that the PDF files available are in colo(u)r. Clearly the web design was disconnected from the actual use case scenarios. Since I had a clue about what I was looking for, it was relatively easy to find - but the fact of the matter is that someone who needs financial assistance is unlikely to know what sort of assistance that they qualify for. The site desperately needs a FAQ, and needs to account for the fact that not everyone who needs assistance has a level of computer literacy that makes their site usable.

On another note, it is somewhat disturbing that the Ministry responsible for Housing is also responsible for the environment - especially in light of the flash flooding we encountered on the Solomon Hochoy Highway when passing Couva.

Is the project useful? For those who find out about it and are qualified, yes - and that is no reflection of the people who are working in the trenches, but rather a fault in how the project's information is disseminated. But maybe that is the way in which the budget is kept under control... who knows? From the outside looking in, there is room for improvement - but the criticism must be balanced with the manner in which I saw the people within the project working: Helpful and pleasant.

Of course, I may have been a fly in the ointment.