The government today sought parliament’s approval to continue the contentious withdrawal of millions of dollars from the National Housing Trust (NHT) to support the budget.

Finance minister Fayval Williams began the debate on the bill and outlined the government’s rationale for continuing the draw down, especially considering the impact of Hurricane Melissa, and the need to respond and recover.

Mrs. Williams said its intended that the revenue measure will be used for the next 5 years.

Meantime, the opposition said it will not support the bill seeking to continue the withdrawals.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding reiterated that the NHT’s money should be used for its core mandate of building homes.