Business
Govt fails to recover over K4m from houses sold since 1997 – AG
According to an official government report, the
Picture: Zambian Business Times
According to an official government report, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning was cited for failing to manage the sale and disposal of institutional houses, leading to an outstanding balance of K4.3 million uncollected.
“A review of the database for the institutional pool of houses revealed that the amounts outstanding of K4.3 million included purchasers who have either died or retired and have no capacity to pay the amounts that have been outstanding from 1919 to 2025,” the report indicated.
The Auditor General’s report further reveals that this was due to the Ministry’s failure to adhere to the guidelines of the AdHoc Committee on the payment purchase.
Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times—ZBT, Lands Expert Dr. Priscilla Nsama castigated the idea of selling institutional houses, revealing that the government is mostly deprived of making revenue.
Further, institutional houses help public servants avoid the burden of high rentals, especially in urban areas like Lusaka. The sale is a great deprivation of government assets that can generate long-term value through rental income.
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“I have always condemned the selling of institutional houses because there is a future, because it is not sustainable, like UNZA has sold off institutional houses, and no one can even repair them, which is making the place deplorable,” she revealed.
Dr. Nsama observed that the construction of institutional houses should be maintained across the country, urging the government to preserve the remaining houses.
With the housing deficit pending at 1.5 housing units, the availability of institutional houses gives a cheaper alternative for middle income for public servants; perhaps the preservation of such a venture is inevitable.
However, Dr. Musamba called on the government to instigate measures that will ensure that the outstanding amount is cleared, further urging stricter measures in safeguarding public resources.
Article by Samuel Mutale
Source: Zambian Business Times — Read more
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