10 Mar 2014

Due to a serious shortage of pool housing accommodation for serving public officers in Gaborone, government cannot afford to dispose of any houses through the tenant purchase scheme as this would reduce the government pool housing stock and thus exacerbate the dire situation.

The Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr Lebonaamang Mokalake said the houses in Kgale View were not dilapidated adding that 26 of the houses required maintenance and were undergoing the requisite maintenance.

Mr Mokalake said in view of all these, he did not consider it necessary to request for replacement houses from the Botswana Housing Corporation.

The minister was responding to a question from the Member of Parliament for Gaborone West South, Mr Botsalo Ntuane who had wanted to know if the minister was aware that pool houses in Kgale View were dilapidated.

He wanted the minister to state if he would consider operating a tenant purchase scheme for civil servants who had been occupants of the houses for more than five years and allowed such officers to buy them at determined market value.

Mr Ntuane asked whether the minister would request for replacement houses from the Botswana Housing Corporation and selling the old ones to Civil Servants as a way of empowering them. Ends