House Passes Bill for Budgetary Support From NHT

• A Bill to facilitate the withdrawal of $11.4Bn annually from the National Housing Trust (NHT), to provide budgetary support for the Government over the next five years, was passed in the House of Representatives on May 19. The National Housing Trust (Amendment) (Special Provisions) Act 2026 was piloted by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams.
• In her remarks, Mrs. Williams noted that in 2013, under the Extended Fund Facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Government of the day obtained contributions towards fiscal consolidation from the NHT for $11.4Bn. She noted that this was achieved by way of an amendment to the National Housing Trust Act, the provisions of which came to an end in March 2017.
• She added that given the need for further budgetary support for the Government’s economic programme, a further amendment of the NHT Act was undertaken in August 2017 to facilitate the continuation of annual transfers from the NHT for the fiscal years 2017/2018 to 2020/2021, and again in December 2020 to facilitate a further continuation of annual transfers for the fiscal years 2021/2022 to 2025/2026. Mrs. Williams stated that 2025 was an unprecedented year for the country, with the passage and impact of Hurricane Melissa on October 28, 2025.
• She further noted that the NHT continues to maintain a strong asset position, with assets exceeding liabilities by approximately 1.8 times over the medium term. It is expected that the NHT will be able to continue to operate profitably while seeking to expand access to housing.
• While the Government opted to continue this revenue measure, the rationale is that the discontinuation of this measure during the current economic climate, which has been significantly altered by the passage of Hurricane Melissa, would result in a significant falloff in government revenues

(Source: JIS)