Civil servants stands scheme begins

THE Government will roll out the civil servants housing scheme this month and the process begins with workers signing stop order forms, an official has said.

Local Government, Public Works and National Housing permanent secretary Engineer George Mlilo yesterday said that it was all systems go as Government had acquired land needed for the project.

The stands are coming as a non-monetary incentive.

All payments will be made through the Salaries Service Bureau and workers have to sign stop orders.

Said Eng Mlilo: "We are saying this month we will finalise the issue of filling in of stop order forms and from there we move to the next stages which will include allocations. We are on course, the land we have got it and it is only the workers who have to sign those stop orders."

The two parties are expected to meet soon to agree on the cost structure of the residential stands.

The Government intends to deliver serviced stands with roads, water and sewer provided.

The workers are expected to contribute about $20 million monthly to drive the project.

The contributions will be administered by a Trust Fund to ensure the workers' money is specifically used for the housing project.

Indications are that Government has acquired land for the construction of high rise flats and residential stands for more than 250 000 civil servants.

The identified land is in all the 10 provincial capitals and smaller urban centres that have been selected.

At least 500 000 civil servants are expected to benefit in the grand scheme.

Financial institutions will be roped in to offer affordable lines of credit.

Apex Council chairperson Mrs Cecilia Alexander said a lot of ground had been covered.

"We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, we have a constitution, a Trust Fund has been set up and we are about to clear some grey areas before roll out," she said.

"What we have not yet finalised is the cost structure which we felt was on the high side. Engineer Mlilo has gone out of his way to engage suppliers and manufacturers to come up with revised prices for the massive scheme to benefit the workers. Once we agree on the cost structure, members will then be guided to choose whether to go for high rise flats or stands."

"We would like to advise our members that the housing scheme is at an advanced stage and would be unveiled soon in accordance with our MoU with Government. This scheme has no relation with the bonus issue."

The national housing policy initiative is part of Government's fulfilment of goals spelt out in the economic blueprint, Zim-Asset, where it intends to provide 300 000 housing units by 2018.

It will go a long way in cushioning civil servants, most whom have been falling prey to land barons.