Govt wants decent housing for State workers

Cabinet minister has said.
Officially opening a housing workshop organised by Shelter Afrique in Harare yesterday, National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Giles Mutsekwa said Government was putting in place mechanisms for housing loans to benefit civil servants.

Government recently resuscitated loan schemes which were abandoned due to the harsh economic climate and failure by financial institutions to guarantee the loans.
There, however, has been an outcry from civil servants amid concerns that the loans were benefiting top Government officials.

“Government is seriously concerned with the plight of its workers but we are doing our best to ensure that everyone gets decent accommodation.
“We are calling for returns to make sure that the funds distributed to various ministries benefit the poorest members.
“We are keen to know how those funds were used, not verbal assurance, which we have been receiving all along. Remotest persons must be beneficiaries also,” he said.

Minister Mutsekwa said Government needed partnerships from the corporate world to achieve its Millennium Development Goals.
He called on investors to seriously consider the country saying Zimbabwe was a conducive environment for business.
Zimbabwe’s economy, he said, was beginning to show signs of recovery hence the need for investors to have confidence in the country.

“It’s true we can not go it alone thus we welcome initiatives by companies like Shelter Afrique. This is the appropriate time when investors are needed most.

“Housing finance in Zimbabwe is pillared on building societies and Government and this means that long term finance in the economy has incapacitated the local authorities to construct off-site infrastructure and toprocure the requisite plant and machinery for civil works,” he said.
Minister Mutsekwa said the country’s backlog was over 1 250 000 units, which he also attributed to lack of long term finance support.

Shelter Afrique, which is headquartered in Kenya, this week signed a US$7 million line of credit with BancABC to be used in supporting housing delivery in Zimbabwe.
The organisation also pledged to increase support with an additional US$20 million before year-end.