Lt. Col. David Burch?s appointment as Quango Consultant last week is nothing more than a ?political smokescreen? designed to obscure Government?s ?miserable failure? to tackle the housing crisis, according to Shadow Housing Minister Wayne Furbert.

And while Lt. Col. Burch may well have a reputation as a ?man of action? with plenty of good ideas, his efforts will ultimately be undermined by a Housing Minister who lacks the competence and the will to get the job done, Mr. Furbert added.

Lt. Col. Burch was handed sweeping powers by Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent on Thursday and has already assumed the chairmanship of two Government Quangos ? the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) and the West End Development Corporation (Wedco).

He is also expected to become chairman of the Bermuda Land Development Corporation at some stage in the future, although no specific date has yet been set for this.

Lt. Col. Burch has been given 18 months to restructure all three bodies with a view towards their ultimate amalgamation ? a move which, according to Mr. DeVent, will allow for a more co-ordinated programme of planning and construction Island-wide.

But Mr. Furbert was singularly unimpressed, suggesting that Lt. Col. Burch?s record of success when he was the Housing Minister himself and the chairman of BHC hardly implied he has anything more dynamic to offer.

But, however well he performs in his new role, Mr. Furbert continued, without the firm commitment from the Government to follow-through on his recommendations and ?get on with the work that needs to be done?, his efforts will be rendered meaningless.

?It?s all very well Government creating this new post and heralding his appointment as a great leap forward in housing policy ? but it is the Cabinet who ultimately controls the purse-strings and it is the Government who has to take the lead,? he said.

?Colonel Burch may well have lots of good ideas. But the problem is that his immediate boss has given absolutely no indication that he has the will to follow through and actually start building some houses.?

In a Press conference last week, Mr. DeVent was keen to condemn what he sees as a growing NIMBY (not in my back yard) culture in Bermuda which is continually undermining his efforts to progress his housing agenda.

But Mr. Furbert poured scorn on this sentiment, labelling it a ?pathetic excuse? designed once again to cover up the lack of a tangible housing plan.

The major housing project at Southside under the auspices of the financially struggling Bermuda Home for People (BHP) is well over a year behind schedule, Mr. Furbert continued, and no guarantee has yet been given that the appropriate level of financing is in place.

And why Government would not consider his party?s idea of building 200 affordable homes at Tudor Hill, by donating the Government-owned land and offering duty relief for contractors on all materials, was completely beyond him, Mr. Furbert added.

Plans to build affordable housing at Tudor Hill were included in the United Bermuda Party?s last General Election manifesto, although the proposed size of the units ? around 1,000 square feet ? was laughed at by then-Housing Minister Lt. Col. Burch.

Is it not ironic, Mr. Furbert concluded, that having balked at the smallness of the planned units for Tudor Hill, the Government has now been forced to import even smaller prefabricated homes from overseas to temporarily fill the void.

?Can this Government point to one major success story on the issue of housing since it came to power?? Mr. Furbert questioned.

?I?m afraid not. There are none.

?Their record is terrible quite frankly and it is my sincere hope that voters make them pay for such neglect at the next election.?