Bermuda Housing Corporation Deputy Chairman David Burch has called for three Government quangos to merge their residential operations.

A report from the Cabinet?s Central Policy Unit recently suggested that instead of competing, the West End Development Company (Wedco) should combine with Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) and merge with BHC to provide plans for affordable, sustainable housing.

Lt. Col. Burch was appointed as chairman of Wedco last month. He said, when offered the Wedco post, he asked to stay on the BHC board as well because it could increase efficiency. Wedco has similar problems with its housing, said Lt. Col. Burch, and talks had been held about economies of scale in carrying out renovations.

?We see the ability to warehouse supplies for both organisations and purchase in a greater bulk than we can as individual organisations and get greater discounts.

?I don?t believe the plan is to merge the two. My recommendation, as a participant in it, was that the housing aspect of BHC, Wedco and Bermuda Land Development Corporation should come under one umbrella ? BHC ? which would take over residential housing.

?I don?t believe Government have made a decision.?

At a Press briefing yesterday, Lt. Col. Burch also announced the appointment of Richard Fox as Finance Manager for BHC. He said Mr. Fox had extensive accounting experience working in both the private sector and Government.

?We are pleased to have him join the Corporation and continue to bring stability to this organisation.?

He also thanked Nas Jetha for stepping in and helping get the organisation back on track.

BHC has been rocked with corruption scandals in recent years which delayed the tabling of previous figures to the Auditor General?s office.

The 2003 audit is complete and with the Auditor General, however.

?We expect to receive a clean opinion for 2003,? said Lt. Col. Burch. ?The 2004 year is in the final stages of completion and we expect to meet the legislative requirement to table the reports in Parliament.

?At the end of the process the Corporation will be fully current with its financial reporting.?

There are 273 persons on the housing list, said Lt. Col. Burch. This is a rise on the July figure of 230 while there are 68 on the emergency list, which is up by four. He said rental arrears are steadily improving.

?The work of our staff with our clients is bearing fruit,? he said. ?There are presently 325 of our 593 clients in varying stages of arrears close to $900,000 ? a reduction in the past month of almost $200,000.?

Efforts to relocate tenants in the Anchorage Road apartments continue, he added. Of the 11 tenants still there, four will be relocated on October 15, six are scheduled for relocation by the middle of November and one is scheduled for court eviction on October 29 for consistent non-payment of rent.

The controversial plans to move the tenants have been met with anger from those forced to move.

Lt. Col. Burch said: ?The tenants are being re-housed ? not evicted, with the exception of the tenant mentioned earlier.

?Several other tenants are in arrears, including one who was relocated there in 2002 with over $11,000 in arrears from a previous tenancy ? a situation that would not happen today as current BHC policy prohibits the relocation of tenants who are in arrears.

?We will continue to work with those tenants who make a genuine effort to reduce their arrears. These buildings must be completely renovated, as our experience from doing patch work only results in an increasing number of service calls.

?These tenants will probably not return to Anchorage Road but we are not going to be charging them market rents. But we will be charging them more than what they are paying now ? from a low of $531 a month to a high of $1,400 a month. Most of those are within the $500-600 range.

?The aim is to permanently re-house them in suitable accommodation.?

That would not necessarily be in the East End, said Mr. Burch, although an effort would be made to keep them local.

He said the work will start in the first week of November.

The final block at the Orange Hole, St. David?s development is well underway, Mr. Burch added, and will result in two, three-bedroom units and one, two bedroom unit.

He said the board was also still looking at pursuing contractors who had ripped off BHC and was recently in talks with lawyers.

?My one pet peeve is the consultant who purchased a property, unbeknownst to us, and sold it at a sizeable profit. At the very least, I shall not rest until we get our money back,? he said.

The consultant, who had been hired by BHC to source empty property, bought a home and then sold it the Corporation for a $65,000 profit.

Lt. Col. Burch admitted that yesterday?s briefing had not covered major developments but said a more substantial press conference will follow the board meeting later this month.