HOUSING Minister David Burch is being urged to pursue overpaid contractors who milked funds from the Bermuda Housing Corporation.

Opposition spokesman Kim Swan spoke out yesterday after BHC worker Terrence Smith was found guilty of pocketing more than $1.2 million of taxpayers? money from the quango five years ago.

Auditor Larry Dennis launched an investigation into corruption at the corporation after the broke the story of inflated payments to contractors in March 2002.

Six months later Sen. Burch insisted that Government would take action against any contractors it believed had been overpaid in an effort to retrieve public funds.

He agreed that ?a substantial amount of money had been overpaid to contractors? and that ?in instances where we can pursue people for redress, we will certainly do so?.

?They know who they are and it is our intention to try in some instances to recover financially through the civil courts,? he said at the time.

However, following the arrest of Smith in February 2003, Sen. Burch said proceedings against any other parties involved in the scam would have to be put on hold until that case was completed.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for the Ministry failed to return repeated calls from the asking if Government planned to take action against any other contractors.

But Sen. Swan insisted that Sen. Burch keep his pledge to retrieve more of the $8 million already written off as a result of the scandal.

?With this case now having been dealt with and an outcome determined I think that it?s widely accepted that there is still a lot to do, there are more issues with the Bermuda Housing Corporation and there are still other cases to pursue,? Sen. Swan said.

?Certainly if the Minister knows of any other instances that need to be dealt with he is responsible to carry that out. That?s what he has indicated and we look forward to seeing that. The Bermuda public deserves that type of accountability. The situation that occurred at the BHC certainly benefited a few people, but unfortunately not the people that the BHC was mandated to reach out to.

?The sad thing is throughout all this housing remains a very important issue for Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda and we look forward to a time when affordable housing is something that Bermudians can expect.?