Govt offer housing stand to civil servants

THE Government is inviting civil servants interested in housing stands to approach Civil Service Commission offices dotted around the country as it moves to alleviate accommodation problems facing its workers and also live  up to its promise of providing non-monetary benefits.

In Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, civil servants interested in the scheme have been urged to approach the CSC offices at Mhlahlandlela Government Complex. Already at the giant building notices inviting the civil servants to join the scheme have been posted in corridors and read that those interested should bring $50.

Also according to the notices the stands would be available in both low and high density suburbs.

Through the scheme, the Government will work in partnership with strategic land developers in the country's 10 province.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche confirmed the existence of the project to Sunday News and said although the Government was yet to make the necessary proclamations, the scheme was at its final planning stages.

He said providing accommodation for its workers was one of Government's major priorities.

"At the moment I cannot furnish you with all the information with regards to this project as we are working on the finer details. However, we will be working with land developers within our provinces and the local authorities, where land will be identified, developed and stands pegged before being sold to the civil servants who will then have to construct their own houses. They will be paying the developer a subsidised fee for a certain period," said Goche.

He said the project was a response to calls by civil servants' associations for the Government to come up with a facility to  alleviate the housing problems for their members, a majority of them lodgers.

"As an employer, we would naturally want to keep our workers happy and this is one of the many ways we want to make working for Government attractive. If our workers want accommodation then we will naturally have to provide that.

"I'm sure within the next couple of weeks I will be calling a Press Conference to announce the finer details of this project as we are just finalising the logistics," said Goche.

Goche, however, could not confirm the number of civil servants set to benefit from the facility, saying that would depend on the land availed to the Government by the local authorities.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Bulawayo Nomthandazo Eunice Moyo also confirmed the existence of the facility, saying officials from the Civil Service Commission recently approached her office to inform her of the developments.

"What I know is that the Civil Service Commission is working on that scheme and there is a special official who has been tasked with this together with a land developer in the city. They came to my office a couple of months ago and I believe the project is already in motion.

"Naturally, I believe this is one progressive scheme as it will not only help us reduce the housing backlog but also goes a long way in benefiting the civil servants who give their all to ensure that Government's mandate in service delivery is fulfilled," said Moyo.

Mr Sifiso Ndlovu, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive officer was, however, singing a different tune, saying the project was taking too long to implement and accused the Government of ignoring the input of civil servants unions in the project.

"What is surprising is that we are the ones who approached Government with this proposal but for some reason Government thinks it can do it on its own. They are continuously saying they are working on the finer logistics yet they still have not got back to us to get our input. It is for this reason that I fear this proposed project will suffer the fate of many others before," said Mr Ndlovu.