12 Sep 2016

Cognisant of the importance of shelter as a basic human need, the government has formulated policies and implemented programmes that improve access to land and housing, says the Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr Prince Maele.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview, Mr Maele said the policies were part of government’s broad key pledges towards its citizens. They include taking Batswana out of poverty and making job creation a number one priority.
“We have programmes in place that improve access to housing, assisting to alleviate poverty, and our ministry’s drive to construct housing through the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) has also helped in job creation,” Mr Maele said.
Some of the key programmes in place driven by his ministry are the Self Help Housing Area (SHHA), Turnkey and Home Improvement schemes, Installment Purchase Scheme, and Youth Housing initiative.
Lower income earners who are Batswana, irrespective of who their employer is, can benefit from these programmes, with the Turnkey scheme assisting those who are developing their plots from the scratch.
Turnkey is for the construction of houses from the scratch, while Home Improvement provides funding for the extension or renovation for an existing or incomplete house.
People who earn P52 000 per annum or less - roughly P4300 per month - qualify for a P90 000 Turnkey and P60 000 Home Improvement loan, Mr Maele said.
He added that the loan was payable over a 20 year period with no interest, but that a 10 percent interest is charged only in the cases where there has been a default of payment.
The Installment Purchase Scheme and Youth Housing involve the construction of three storey flats piloted at Tsholofelo in Broadhurst, Gaborone.
This will target Batswana tenants, mostly the youth who earn between P3 000 and P7 000 per month, availed for rental with the occupant allowed to purchase the flat over time.
“We also have the Public Officers Housing Initiative taking place countrywide availed to public officers who work in various areas across the country to live in,” he said.
 From the first day of August this year, civil servants on D4 salary scale and below qualify for SHHA Turnkey scheme, Mr Maele said.
The ministry has also come up with the Poverty Alleviation Housing Project, which groups unskilled and unemployed people into a community housing project which trains people on the basic building skills such as bricklaying, while earning a living by selling their produce.
Mr Male said that through ESP his ministry had been engaged in the construction of district housing, land servicing and the maintenance of government pool housing.
“According to the Central Statistics Office, of the over 16 000 jobs created through ESP, over 12 000 jobs were created by MLH projects. Construction is a labour intensive vocation, and while most of these were short term jobs, this is key as people were able to earn a living while acquiring skills,” Mr Maele said. ENDS