Former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday accused the PNM-led Government of giving houses to party members and friends of Cabinet ministers.
Moonilal also threw jabs at Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, stating he had "no moral authority to speak on housing based on his legacy of the Las Alturas, Golconda, Edinburgh Towers and Wellington Estates housing projects where we (former People Partnership government) had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to correct bad work, poor design, engineering flaws, lack of sewer plants and poor infrastructure."
The Oropouche East MP was responding to comments by Rowley, who at Tuesday's sod-turning for the "River-Runs-Through" housing estate, Arima, stated the demand for houses in T&T was like "hops."
Rowley said it had reached a stage where people have been saying they want a house, in the same tone and approach as "I want a hops bread" not realising that a house is an expensive item.
In his five years in office, Moonilal said, he has never responded with contempt to those in need of shelter.
"In fact, I wept when members of the public came to me in tears for a home. This lack of compassion is unsuitable for high office holders.
"The Prime Minister with his houses like hops comment seems to be condoning the response of the plight of homeless Mary Paria.
"The Prime Minister has dashed the hopes of thousands of long-waiting applicants who are unable to get a housing unit under the PNM administration," he added.
Moonilal said regrettably it took the Government almost one year to understand the need for housing.
"Today, housing distribution is back to the dark old secret discriminatory days of giving out houses to party members and friends and relatives of ministers," he added.He said an apartment at Edinburgh Towers, which was built under the then Patrick Manning administration, was now priced at over $1 million.
"These apartments have to be redesigned and are incomplete. In this day and age the PNM have reverted to cesspits for their much heralded River-Runs- Through project.
'We are back to the National Housing Authority ghetto-style buildings that nurture crime. One would want to know of the EMA's approvals for housing systems using cesspits in low-lying areas," he said.
In the coming weeks, Moonilal said, he would expose the true projected cost of that housing project under the PP, in comparison the price the former PNM administration had outlined.
Moonilal described the project as a farce, saying it was not ready for construction.