Opposition wants NHT head to resign over NDA with housing developer

The Parliamentary Opposition is calling for the resignation of Martin Miller, the managing director of the National Housing Trust (NHT), who signed a non-disclosure agreement with a private housing developer to settle a failed multibillion-dollar contract.

Senator Floyd Morris, opposition spokesperson on housing and sustainable living, Wednesday morning demanded that Miller step down, calling the arrangement with Dexim Holdings “botched”.

“We believe that what has taken place in this sweetheart deal constitutes a breach of transparency, accountability and good governance,” Morris said during a press conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

Morris said the agreement between the two parties and what followed amounted to a “plundering” of the NHT funds and should not go unpunished.

The NHT sued Dexim Holdings in September 2022 for alleged failure to deliver 200 houses for which it advanced $650 million.

The two signed the advance to Dexim under a two-year guaranteed purchase agreement in August 2019.

The deadline was extended to August 2022.

In a settlement agreement dated November 29, 2023, the parties agreed to surrender the 2019 deal, meaning that the NHT would no longer buy Dexim's houses.

In return, the NHT would reclaim the $650 million that was secured by a bond with a local bank.

The Sunday Gleaner brought the issue to light in a series of stories from January 14.

Morris questioned why the NHT departed from its stated policy under the guaranteed purchase programme, whether due diligence was done on the inspection of the property earmarked for the development and the existence of a non-disclosure agreement in NHT's settlement with Dexim Holdings as a public body managing public funds.

Additionally, he questioned whether the NHT board was made aware of the settlement and whether Prime Minister Andrew Holness, the portfolio minister, was aware of the non-disclosure agreement.

NHT has maintained that the non-disclosure is consistent with the process of mediation and is a requirement of the rules of court.

“We are calling for the managing director of the NHT, who is one of the signatories to the NDA, to resign for this botched arrangement with Dexim Holdings,” said Morris.

He also wants, among other things, the details of the settlement to be released for public scrutiny, for Holness to disclose whether he was aware of the settlement and the non-disclosure, NHT to ensure that due diligence is done for all future guaranteed purchase programme, and for the NHT to disclose whether it has similar issues with any other developer.

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