More attention was paid to the fact that former Housing Minister Lt. Col. David Burch was announced as the new ?quango czar? last week than was given to the substance of his new job.

That?s not entirely surprising. Love him or hate him, Lt. Col. Burch has a reputation for getting things done and given the parlous state of housing, his return will generally be welcomed for that reason alone.

The personality issue was given more weight because Lt. Col. Burch has himself admitted that he didn?t jump for joy when offered the job, and there was added mystery because only months earlier he quit as chairman of the West End Development Corporation and as deputy chairman of the Housing Corporation.

Lt. Col. Burch has never explained why he quit, but it was generally assumed that it was out of frustration. On that basis it seems likely that he must feel he can cut through more red tape and be more effective with the wider-ranging powers he has now received.

As the job has been described, Lt. Col. Burch will report directly to the Minister of Works in his new position and decisions he takes will, apparently, be law.

That raises some concerns because it must reduce the responsibilities of the current boards of the three quangos. In addition, these boards have legal responsibilities and liabilities that the new structure does not seem to address.

Lt. Col. Burch?s long term remit is to bring about a merger of the three quangos into one super-quango. This was a recommendation of Government?s central policy unit, which carried out an in-depth study into the functions and effectiveness of all the quangos.

Neither Wedco nor the Bermuda Land Development Company have been as successful as most people would have liked.

While Wedco can point to some successes, progress has been slow and uncertain. The long-running dispute between Wedco and its tenant the Bermuda Cement Company amply demonstrates some of Wedco?s weaknesses. It has been said that Lt. Col. Burch, while chairman of Wedco, got more done to solve that dispute in two hours than his predecessors had managed in two years. For that reason alone, his return his welcome.

But many of Wedco?s problems stem from its inability to offer leases that are longer than 21 years, and that will not be solved by merging it with the BLDC. It requires Government to pass legislation.

The BLDC has had its share of challenges as well. Its struggles to find a tenant for Morgan?s Point may be the most glaring, but that is more because of Government?s apparent refusal to fund the remediation of the environmental horror story there than anything else.

Constant political interference has hamstrung the BLDC as well. A plan to sell homes to middle class families was cut in half when half of the homes were set aside for low cost rental housing. Its plans to develop Marginal Wharf were junked when Government gave the land to Bermuda Homes for People. Again, none of these problems will be solved by a merger.

Having said that, a business case can be made for merging the BLDC and Wedco. Efficiencies could be achieved by cutting duplicate administrative roles. Wasteful competition between the two bodies for businesses and so on could also be reduced.

This newspaper is not yet convinced that bigger is necessarily better, however. Combining two imperfect organisations may not produce one good one, and more likely will create a doubly imperfect one.

And many of the problems discussed above are not the quangos? fault but require solutions from Government such as longer leases, tax breaks for development and most importantly, less Government interference.

Still, a merger of the two seems likely and if it is successful, this newspaper will be be happy to admit it was wrong.

On the other hand, throwing the Housing Corporation into the mix would be a horrible error. Wedco and Southside are both almost by default residential landlords, but they have a much broader remit that covers business development, culture, recreation and so on.

The BHC?s function is, rightly, focused on housing. Merging the BHC with the other two properties will either blunt the BHC?s focus, or perhaps worse, turn the three groups into a super-housing corporation.

Given the BHC?s dismal record in recent years, it might seem unwise to suggest that Wedco and the BLDC should pay the BHC to administer ?affordable housing? they own, thus allowing them to focus on their broader role.

The BHC, in theory, knows how to manage these properties, while Wedco?s record is pretty poor and it is reasonable to presume that the BLDC has little interest in it.

A well run and transparent BHC that can actually do that may be asking too much. But if anyone can achieve it, it is David Burch.