Hope lost

Anger, disappointment and a sense of betrayal have overtaken scores of National Housing Corporation (NHC) clients who are now unsure of their investment after pouring more than $2 million into buying lots on which they can’t now build.
The saga is unfolding at Hopeland, near Rices in St Philip, where for the past decade Barbadians have been paying for house lots, which to their surprise were turned over to embattled contractor Al Barrack, who took the NHC to court to recover more than $60 million.
One client, Brian Stuart, produced scores of receipts dating back to October 2006, showing that he had been dutifully paying the corporation monthly for Lot 38. Last week, however, he was at the point of tears when he reported to the DAILY NATION that since making his final payment last April 2, bringing his total to $47 000, NHC officials told him Al Barrack now owned the land.
“I used to drive through there every weekend and look at that lot,” Stuart said. “I used to imagine what my house would look like there . . . . Now you can’t imagine how I feel inside.”