Why Easton Douglas should never have been appointed Chairman of the NHT board

Let’s examine some decisions in housing made by Easton Douglas in the past.

The year is 1991

PATTERSON OBJECTS
In 1991, on October 1, P. J. Patterson, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Planning, wrote to the Minister of Health, Easton Douglas: The Town Planning Department. Patterson said, had objected to a proposal by the Ministry of Health to put a nursing school on 11 acres of Hope Gardens Estate. Patterson pointed out that the area was zoned for recreational use and that concern had ”been repeatedly expressed about the infiltration of non-recreational uses in the Hope Gardens Estate..”

”Consequently, the decision was taken that there should be no further subdivision of the areas, particularly those lands adjacent to the gardens and its recreational zoning must be maintained. …It is indeed a national asset which must be maintained. The population growth, … dictates that lands in juxtaposition to the Gardens be retained for future expansion programmes…

“The recently established Hope Zoo Development Task Force has formulated a plan to expand and improve the facilities in Hope Gardens Estate which will be developed as a major recreational attraction.”

The year is 1999

DOUGLAS FORGES AHEAD
Fast forward to November 25, 1999. The NRCA has ordered the developers of “Hope Country Club” to present their proposals for the latest redefinition of Hope Gardens, a joint venture sponsored by the Minister of Housing – a corporation sole by the name of Easton Douglas, the same Easton Douglas who Mr Patterson wrote in 1991.

The project was revised from 250 houses to 241, but nothing much changed except that Mr Cartade’s company now had a joint venture partner, the Minister of Housing. Earlier this month, the Minister declared the area to be a Housing Area, under a law which permits the Minister to determine the need for housing in any area and to declare selected areas to be housing area. The law was not designed to find houses for the rich.

(Easton Douglas as Minister of Housing ammended the law to allow for the lands to bve used for housing, even though he had been advised in 1991 by then Deputy Prime Minister to “back off” the Hope Gardens lands)

Kennedy Groove Easate Easton Douglas brain child.

October 20, 2005 Jamaica Gleaner

FORMER ENVIRONMENT and Housing Minister, Easton Douglas, says homeowners in Kennedy Grove, Clarendon should consider suing the Government and the developer of houses in that community as the buildings were constructed in a known flood-prone zone.

According to Mr. Douglas, a national hazard map of Jamaica had indicated that residents in Kennedy Grove would be in danger as it is situated in a pond.

Against this background, Mr. Douglas said residents could pursue legal options against the parish council or the developers.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20051020/lead/lead8.html

The NHT issue has seen Easton Douglas givingconfilctiing statements to the media and now looking back at this, it appears he has the propensity to this from as far back in in those days.

By the end of October we had media reports quoting the very same Easton Douglas speaking about the very same issue, but with a completing different spin on the issue

October 30, 2005 (Jamaica Observer)

AMIDST the finger pointing and the misery of the Kennedy Grove residents, former housing minister and land surveyor Easton Douglas has come out in strong defence of his decision to develop a housing scheme in the waterway.

On Friday, Douglas, the former housing minister under whose watch the project was executed, told the Sunday Observer that he did nothing wrong, and that his handling of the project had been “impeccable.”

Can you believe this folks, is this the same person.

Let’s move forward to December 2005

Dec 19, 2005 ( Jamaica Gleaner)

IT’S like a broken vessel in the housing market these days; especially when houses form part of joint projects between the National Housing Trust (NHT) and private developers. Recent floodings in some of these projects have shown up dangerous weaknesses in site selection and the accompanying environmental problems. Home buyers are now being urged to get the facts and be wary.

Problems, like those in Kennedy Grove and Nightingale Grove, arise he says, when proper procedure is not followed, rules are compromised and scores of people get washed out of homes they worked hard to buy. He knows that fingers are pointing his way in the Kennedy Grove fiasco. He had the power under the Housing Act to declare the Kennedy Grove lands a housing area, during the time of the development, which was conceived about 1994

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20051219/news/news1.html

We are destined to repeat the same mistakes when we fail to use history to guide how we move forward.

From the information chronicled above, we can see that the decision by Portia Simpson Miller to appoint Easton Douglas as chairman of the NHT was a very poor one given his rather poor decisions related to previous housing/land development and the fact that he was fired by a previous PNP Prime Minister for going against the wishes of that Prime Minister.

Its obvious that Portia Simpson Miller did not think about this decision and now it has come back to haunt her in more ways that one.

Folks a week ago a wrote the following

Is there trouble within the ranks of the PNP, I certainly think so ?

Never before have I seen such discord in the ranks of the PNP and such misinformation surrounding a single matter. ( Simple matter at that)

Normally, when the PNP is in hot water, they all sing from the same sheet and are consistent in their position when they speak. This sordid affair with the Outameni purchase is very different and I believe I know why.

PJ Patterson has always been the elder in the party, keeping things together and managing the situation, but what is emerging, suggest that PJ may no longer be calling the shots as he is used to.

http://wp.me/pvIkx-29c

I knew back then that I was unto something, but I never knew what it was until a just recently and it lies in the very last sentence above . PJ Patterson has always been the elder in the party, keeping things together and managing the situation.

It is now clear to me that with PJ Patterson having fired Easton Douglas from his cabinet back in 1999, he may have not been in favour of him being appointed chairman to the NHT board and so as opted to remove himself from the situation, hence the mass confusion and discord that we have seen emerged from this situation.

I call out any out any comrade to prove me wrong 🙂

Now it is all coming together .

Bless