The losses incurred by the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) have provided the country with an opportunity to engage in a serious examination of that entity’s relevance.

Earlier this month, HAJ Chairman Mr Norman Brown, in announcing that the board had taken a decision to cashier some of its senior managers, pointed to more than $2 billion in losses over the past three years and what the board said were “significant deficits in the management” of the State-run agency.

According to Mr Brown, the losses amounted to $608,788,000 for the year 2013/2014; $539,099,000 for 2014/2015; and were projected to total $848,574,456 for 2015/2016.

That is a lot of money — money that could be better spent on any of the vital public services that are in dire need of financial assistance.

These huge losses are not the only areas of concern that have come up at the HAJ over the years.

Readers will recall that in November 2013 this newspaper reported the exodus of senior executives, a development that many employees at the time believed was part of an effort to get rid of staff who were not supportive of the then Government or of the changing policies at the agency.

Then, in March 2014, the entire board was instructed to resign a day after the then Managing Director Mr Carl Bennett quit after spending just three months in the job.

Mr Bennett, readers will recall, was the third managing director to leave the job in eight months.

While all that points to great instability at the agency, that problem can be dealt with by firm and proper management, devoid of political interference.

However, it is the mandate of the HAJ that gives us concern. Formed in 1998 through the merger of Caribbean Housing Finance Corporation Limited, National Housing Corporation Limited, and Operation Pride, the HAJ is tasked with providing low-cost shelter solutions for Jamaicans on the open market, mortgage servicing, and upgrading informal settlements.

Outside of the role it is supposed to play with informal settlements, it appears to us that the HAJ is duplicating the functions of the National Housing Trust (NHT).

The question is, why do we need two agencies to do the same thing?

It seems to us that the State’s housing services needs to be rationalised, leading to the dismantling of the HAJ. For certainly, the HAJ’s performance pales in comparison to that of the NHT which has served the people well, despite the controversies over the use of its funds.

Watch Turkey carefully

The leaders of democratic countries across the world have rightly condemned the coup attempt in Turkey. If people believe that legitimately elected governments should be booted out of office, the acceptable way is through free and fair elections.

We can well understand the anger felt by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the failed putsch which resulted in at least 294 people being killed and more than 1,400 wounded. We also accept that coup plotters and the soldiers who acted on their instructions should be punished.

However, it appears that the mass arrests taking place in Turkey now – at least 6,000 so far – could be the start of a further step into authoritarian rule and an overreach in the Government’s thirst for revenge.

This is certainly a development that needs close scrutiny from the international community.