Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent is putting the cart before the horse when he says the key to solving the housing crisis is home ownership.

Increasing home ownership should be Government's long term goal, and it is correct that building new owner-occupied homes will free up homes that were previously rented ? thus stabilising prices in the rental market.

But his critics, who include Shadow Housing Minister Wayne Furbert, Progressive Labour Party maverick Rolfe Commissiong and former Housing Corporation general manager Edwin Cowen, are also right in stating that affordable rental housing is where the crisis is now.

Mr. DeVent has also been trying to make the case that the private sector has a role to play in solving the crisis. He is right that Government can't do it on its own. But it has to lead the way in solving the crisis.

That's because the sheer expense of land and construction in Bermuda make it impossible for private developers to attain a reasonable return on their investments without putting homes for sale out of the reach of ordinary tenants.

It can be argued that this is greed on the part of the developers, but removing the profit motive will kill any incentive people have to build privately ? thus deepening an already severe crisis.

So Government must take a role, both directly, through new construction or renovations, and indirectly through eased zonings and tax incentives.

The United Bermuda Party has proposed, in addition to the housing development at Tudor Hill, giving developers tax breaks on materials for affordable housing and freeing up zoning in North Hamilton for redevelopment and expansion of housing there.

Mr. Cowen has shown how the BHC can increase home ownership and more rental stock by selling homes in well established neighbourhoods to the sitting tenants and selling other buildings in the BHC's portfolio that are not suitable for low cost housing. The proceeds of the sales could then be reinvested in building affordable rental housing using alternative building materials on land the Government already owns, thus reducing the overall cost and giving Government more bang for its buck.

The Government has taken up none of these ideas, perhaps because of their sources.

Before Cup Match, the Housing Corporation did announce a number of new initiatives, including plans to buy land in Hamilton for an apartment block. That and the proposed Southside development seem to be the Corporation's major efforts and they are welcome.

But they are not enough. Mr. DeVent seems to be genuine in his desire to solve this problem ? and he is correct in saying he does not want to eradicate Bermuda's open spaces in doing so ? but there's a big gulf between good intentions and bricks and mortar.

What is needed is a comprehensive plan which was promised months ago and apparently remains in Mr. DeVent's head alone.

Mr. DeVent has failed to deliver beyond uttering a series of platitudes and has now been in office too long to be able to blame the BHC's failure on any of his predecessors.

Still, it would be wrong to lay all the blame at Mr. DeVent's feet. It is the Government that has failed for six years to provide either plans or funding for Bermuda's most pressing social problem.

Mr. DeVent urged people to stop complaining and to get involved in the political process. This is an old refrain. Part of the political process is getting your voice heard ? and for that reason alone, people should keep shouting to the rooftops until something gets done.