Controversial former Bermuda Housing Corporation general manager Raymonde Dill will speak at a forum on housing next week.

Mr. Dill, who was forced out of his post in the wake of a scandal over cost overruns at the Corporation, is one of four speakers at the Bermuda Industrial Union forum. He will be joined by electrical contractor Craig Laws, realtor Cris Valdes Dapena, and hotelier Clifford Schorer, who wants to build a housing development at Southside which will have a low cost housing component.

The forum will be held at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Dr. Gordon Memorial Hall in the BIU Headquarters. All members of the public are invited to attend.

BIU political education committee chairman Mr. Calvin Smith said the aim of the forum is to use the information presented as a guide when dealing with Government on the issue of housing.

“The objective is to let our members and friends learn about what is behind the issues of the day and allow them to move forward with that information to their elected representative,” said Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith said Mr. Dill will look at the nature of the demand for housing, examine what sort of households are in need of housing and to what extent they represent Bermudian and non-Bermudian households.

Mr. Laws is the manager and president of Brilliant Solutions Ltd., an electrical and electronic system design & contracting company. He will discuss the structure of a housing authority under the direction of government that is designed to look after the needs of low income groups.

Mrs. Valdes Dapena will bring the unique viewpoint of a leading realtor as the director of the Property Group. She will provide the audience with a description of the housing market in terms of rentals, sales and all price points. She also plans to look at how increased demand in one sector or price range affects prices in other sectors or price ranges.

Mrs. Valdes Dapena will conclude with some observations on potential remedies to the current imbalance of supply and demand and how Government might impact the supply side.

Mr. Schorer, who has recently formed the Bermuda Homes for People and who wants to build 200 new homes at Southside, is the founder and managing director of Nantucket Homes, a non-profit company whose mission is to build homes in communities where people cannot afford to participate in the market.