Affordable housing is clearly one of the strongest issues being discussed in the current election campaigns leading up to the November 7, mid-term elections. Polls conducted by this and other newspapers indicate that access to affordable housing is a very critical issue in the entire state, and especially in South Florida. Thousands of people living on fixed incomes are finding it increasingly difficult to rent or purchase homes in decent neighborhoods. The situation is dire, and those towards the bottom half of the income groupings are at risk of becoming homeless, living as they do from inadequate paycheck to paycheck.

Against this backdrop came reports over the past month that pointed to gross mismanagement and dubious activities taking place at the Miami-Dade Housing Agency. This mismanagement led to millions of dollars being allotted to developers to build affordable houses that were never built. This despicable act has robbed hundreds of residents the opportunity to remove from squalid living conditions.

The situation is compounded when one of these developers, in addition to defrauding the agency, used some of the money allotted, to build himself an ultra-luxurious home in Miami-Dade. Although this person has been arrested on charges of grand theft and intent to defraud, the matter must not be allowed to end there.

The activities of the administration of public entities, especially those that disburse taxpayers’ money, must be always accountable, and follow acceptable procedures. How in the world could the MDHA have disbursed so much money for housing projects without proper accountability, so much so that the county’s auditing and/or financial control departments were not aware of what was taking place? This situation begs for a full investigation by not only county, but by state authorities.

However, the problem seems to relate to a more serious situation. In the Caribbean we have a saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” in order to get by. That saying is very evident in the MDHA situation. How else could developers who had little or no construction experience have received contracts worth millions of dollars to build public houses? Obviously, the only reason they received these contracts was because they had close ties with those responsible for awarding the contracts and disbursing the funds. Public companies should not be allowed to be administered like this. Neither can we allow public funds to be squandered through fraud or mismanagement, especially at the expense of people who are in dire need.

It is becoming increasingly evident in the major cities and counties of Florida, that it is by knowing or having close ties to certain politicians that one will get the inside track in obtaining lucrative contracts. Whatever happened to the process of tendering bids for contracts? Is this policy becoming just another smoke screen? Conversely, it could become futile for competent developers to get contracts if they have to compete with those who are owed favors by politicians for making large campaign contributions, or otherwise helping a political official to get elected. This state of affairs pervades public systems throughout America, and also leads to much corruption in the Caribbean. It is unfortunate that when these lucrative contracts are offered it is the recipients and their associates who benefit and not the constituencies that the contracts were designed to assist.

It is also unfortunate that so much money seems to have gone to waste in the MDHA situation. But, it is not too late to make changes. Although, as State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said, more arrests can be expected; this is not enough. Neither are the changes that are currently being made by Miami-Dade’s county manager at the housing agency. If the system is not changed, the specter of corruption will sooner or later taint whatever changes there are.

What really needs to be changed, and closely monitored, is the manner in which public contracts are issued. Politicians have to be taken out of the contact approval process, and the contracts awarded must be closely monitored to ensure that the funds allocated are spent in accordance with the terms of that contract. This therefore calls for Contract Generals in each city, and in each county to ensure that they are awarded without favor or prejudice, and that scare public funding has proper oversight.

This housing scandal is a wake up call for the public to be more vigilant against this type of corruption. Despite the MDHA slackness, the public has a right to demand that these houses be built. The onus is now on the MDHA to provide the funding again to build these houses that were supposed to be erected.