27 Feb 2014

Jwaneng Town Council is considering to take legal action against defaulters of Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA) loans.

Addressing a full council meeting this week, the acting mayor, Mr Tsietsi Oodira-Kwenje lamented that only a few defaulters had responded to the council’s recent legal notice which was published in the media.

“It is disheartening to note that following the 30 days legal notice which was issued on the November 7, 2013, limited response was realised on the part of those who have defaulted on SHHA loan repayments,” he explained.

He noted that as of December 31, 2013, the Building Material Loan (BML) and Service Levy arrears stood at P630 309.95 and P257 580.90 respectively. This showed a slight improvement from the October 30, 2013 which showed BML arrears of 710 320.91 and service levy arrears of P301 789.05.

He said since the council had exhausted all means possible, they were in the process of sending letters of demand to defaulters for full repayments, failing which the council will proceed with litigation. He called upon councillors to encourage defaulters to repay their debts to avoid the consequences of litigation.

“We must remember that this was supposed to be a revolving fund so that all Batswana who are eligible can also enjoy the benefits of decent housing and accommodation. The penalties of not complying will be loss of property and personal freedom,” he said.

Meanwhile, the acting mayor noted that after last year’s allocation of 434 SHHA plots in Environmental Unit 8 (EU 8), the waiting list was currently at 1428. He however noted that a lot of applications were still to be captured in the system, and therefore there was likely to be an increase on the actual applications. ENDS