Japanese Ambassador to Fiji, Kawakami Fumihiro and Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. [Image: Office of the Prime Minister]
In a bid to help Fiji stabilize and revitalize the economy, Japan has provided the government with an emergency loan of $200 million for Fiji’s COVID-19 response.
While signing the loan agreement, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says this support from Japan will further allow Fiji to strengthen its COVID defences particularly the public health system.
Bainimarama says it will equip the frontline workers as Fiji prepares to step through the door of a post-pandemic future.
He adds the key to the door is vaccines and that is why Fiji at every opportunity is advocating for equitable access to vaccines.
Bainimarama says Japan’s plan to host the Olympics in July gives us all hope that life as we knew it is within reach.
The Japanese Ambassador to Fiji, Kawakami Fumihiro says the loan will be provided with extremely concessional conditions with 0.01% interest rate and 15 years of repayment period with 4 years grace period.
He says this loan is the largest in Japan’s long history of aid assistance to Fiji.
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT MINISTER SAYS EVERY APPLICATION FOR HOUSING FLAT OR LAND WILL NOW THOROUGHLY ASSESSED BY THE BOARD. [SOURCE: TWITTER]
The Local Government Minister says every application for Housing flat or land will now be thoroughly assessed by the Board.
Minister Premila Kumar highlighted this while visiting the settlements and PRB flats in Labasa.
She highlighted the fraudulent activities at the Housing Authority in relation to lot allotments.
Kumar says similar problems in PRB flats have also surfaced where tenants are not disclosing correct information.
“From now onwards every flat that is allocated or any land that is allocated it will be approved by the Board. One of the biggest problems we found in the Housing Authority was that when people applied for a block a thorough check was not made.”
She informed the PRB tenants that due to the fraudulent activities a special investigation was carried out at the Authority.
People can get the plan from the Ministry’s website on housing.gov.fj
People living in rural and maritime areas can now get an engineer certified plan for a 2 bedroom house from the Ministry of Housing at no cost to them.
This means Fijians will not have to spend hundreds of dollars on engineers and architects when drawing up plans for a two-bedroom home.
This has been revealed by the Minister for Housing, Premila Kumar who says these houses are engineered to withstand category 4 cyclones as the maritime communities are mostly impacted by cyclones.
She says the plan is for a weatherboard house that can be built with materials worth $18,700.
The plan also includes the price listings of the materials to be used.
The concept design was provided by the Koro-I-Pita Model Town Trust and Shri Singh and Associates and Rawlinson Jenkins Pte Ltd assisted with the engineering certification and the bill of quantities for the house plan.
Kumar says this will also benefit those living in informal settlements as they would not have to get an architect and an engineer to draw up plans for their houses when their settlements are upgraded.
Fijians who want to construct the 2 bedroom homes in urban areas will need to get approval from their respective municipalities.
The Minister says the plan can also assist those who want to get money from their FNPF accounts to construct their home as it has been accepted by the Fund.
She has also confirmed that the Ministry is developing plans for two and three-bedroom homes suitable for the urban areas.
People can get the plan from the Ministry’s website on housing.gov.fj
They are only required to enter their name, email address, TIN and reason for downloading the plan.
Fijians can also visit the Ministry of Housing where a computer has been dedicated for people to download the plan and also get printouts.
Housing Authority of Fiji CEO Robert Sen agrees that a lot of time was previously taken for lot allotment but some policies have changed and clear communication is being initiated with the customers in regards to their complaints.
This comes as hundreds of people raised concerns during the Public Inquiry Consultation into the possible irregularities and fraudulent transactions in relation to allocation of lots by the Housing Authority in the past 10 years.
Customers had raised concerns that they have been waiting for more than 10 years for allotment, they were not informed about their applications, their lot for which they had paid for was sold to someone else and their payment kept increasing despite making several payments for the lot.
Sen says they are looking at the complaints and have been talking to the customers that had raised concerns with them on a case by case basis.
The CEO says a lot of time is being taken for lot allocation because they do not have many lots available for allocation for the customers however, they have already started work on amending their allocation policies.
He says going forward they will take into account all the concerns that were raised through the public inquiry and where possible, Housing Authority will follow the recommendations of the Committee.
The CEO adds that he is sure the committee will make a useful decision and would give recommendation to the Housing Authority that would ensure that lot allocations will be done fairly for all the customers.
The Housing Authority of Fiji has paid out a total of $396,000 this year to its customers for claims under the Mortgage Protection Insurance Cover.
The payout, which spans from January 2020 to present, is paid under the health insurance cover which goes along with the mortgage protection policy that was introduced in 2008.
The policy was introduced when Housing Authority noted an increase in cardiac and cancer cases among its homeowners.
According to the authority, their customers have been able to get health treatment in India and returned with successful treatments.
“Over the years, we have continued to upgrade and add more value to our cover without additional cost, as a way of giving back to our valued customers,” the authority said.
“The whole objective of this mortgage protection insurance is to cover for a mortgage in an event of total permanent disability or death of one homeowner.”
Since its inception to date, 52 homeowners have had successful medical treatment overseas.
“In today’s world, it is important that people understand the importance of products and services. As the world evolves into a digital market phase, it is crucial that customers are updated thoroughly on the matters that surround the economy.
“Housing Authority, in this case, has been major player in the housing market and continues to assist citizens of Fiji, own affordable homes. While most people know that the Housing Authority is one of the biggest landlords in Fiji, a good number of those people do not know that we provide much more than that.”
THE HOUSING AUTHORITY HAS RECEIVED 334 APPLICATIONS FOR COVID-19 ASSISTANCE.
The Housing Authority has received 334 applications for COVID-19 assistance.
220 applications are from the Central and 114 from the Western Division.
271 applications have been approved while 11 are still being processed. Five are awaiting a committee decision, 10 have been returned for further information and 37 have been declined.
Relief packages include 3 months loan repayment holiday, extension of loan term without fees, interest only repayments or 3 months’ loan repayment holiday with extension of loan term.
The Authority says further relief assistance will be provided to customers on a case by case basis.
The Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption confirms they have received a complaint in relation to the allegations of corruption at the Housing Authority.
FBC News understands this complaint arose from the ongoing investigation at the Housing Authority.
Minister for Housing, Premila Kumar had earlier confirmed to FBC News that the current investigation has led to the termination of eight staff.
Kumar says these staff were allegedly engaged in abuse of office and corrupt practices.
It is alleged that these staff registered their personal business by giving Housing Authority address and they were making plans for Housing Authority clients and pocketing that money.
Kumar says they are coming up with new policies for the housing sector.
In an interview with FBC News, the Housing Minister had admitted a high level of corruption at the Authority.
The Minister says Fijians have questioned her about the lots allocated to people in Tacirua and Wainibuku, which were initially set aside for low-income earners.
Kumar says amazingly some people had declared that their household income was $20,000 however they have built two-storey buildings in these areas.
The Home Ownership Initiative Grant for this financial year is closed.
Minister for Housing Premila Kumar says this is the result of their budget for the program been fully utilized.
Kumar says 450 households have benefited from the Home Ownership Initiative in the first six months of this financial year (2019/2020) representing $4.9 million against a budget of $5.5 million.
Of this, 66 applicants were from the Fiji National Provident Fund Mataqali scheme with a payout of $990,000.
The scheme was launched as an extension of the Home Ownership program in 2018.
The Minister also highlights that applications were processed strictly on a first come first serve basis and that a further 143 applications are currently being processed to be paid from within the Ministry’s Budget.
Kumar says those unsuccessful applications this financial year could reapply in the next budget cycle for 2020/2021.
More than 2,550 Fijian families have been assisted under the First Home Ownership Initiative since its inception in 2014, an overall investment of $22.7 million.
Kumar says the First Home Purchase Grant and First Land Purchase Grant are supportive approaches the government is taking to encourage Fijians to own a home.
The First Home Ownership Initiative is directly managed by the Ministry of Housing and Community Development.
Under the programme, households with an annual income of less than $50,000 are entitled to receive a $15,000 grant to build their home or $10,000 to purchase their first home.
In the 2018/2019 financial year, this assistance was extended to those with an annual household income threshold of $50,000 – $100,000 and the entitlement is for $10,000 for construction and $5,000 for the purchase of their first home.
The First Land Purchase programme was introduced in the 2018/19 budget.
Applicants with an annual household income of $50,000 and below, qualify for this assistance to purchase their land through ITLTB and the Ministry of Lands.
The maximum grant assistance is $10,000.
Successful applicants must meet all requirements as laid out in a strict criterion, and the final recommendations are made by a committee that includes representation from the Ministry of
Housing and Community Development, Ministry of Economy and the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.
The Housing Authority will soon merge with the Public Rental Board.
Minister for Housing Premila Kumar highlighted this in parliament as part of the ministry’s reforms.
Kumar says the amalgamation will make services more effective and efficient.
“First the cost will come down, secondly certain activities which is being undertaken by the PRB is also being undertaken by Housing Authority so by merging those two things it means a huge reduction in the over-head cost.”
She says also part of the reforms is the digitization of services provided by Housing Authority.
“When people put in their application, it gets lost within the system, there is no proper tracking system, so by having a automated system, customers can track their application, they can pay online, and as i said earlier on they can check their balance and their families who live abroad want to help their relatives, they can also pay online.”
The Housing Authority has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with relevant stakeholders for information sharing to help in the processing of all applications.
Some of the Public Rental Board flats at Nairai Road, Raiwai, in Suva.
People who live in flats meant for low-income earners should move out after a few years when their household income increases.
This is the view of the Real Estate Agents Licensing Board chairperson, Abdul Hassan, who believes this will solve the housing problem in the country to some extent.
“When these people moved into housing flats meant for low-income earners and others, they may have had low income,” he said.
“But as other members of the family started working and the household income increased, they should have just moved out of those flats.
“If they had moved out of those flats, then it would have made room for other low-income earners to move in and stay for a few years and move on.”
Mr Hassan said he was aware that some people were staying in such flats for years.
He said the policy by the relevant authorities for such flats for low-income earners should be stringent.
SURVEY TO DETERMINE HOUSEHOLD INCOME
“The respective organisations should carry out a survey and find out for how long the families are staying there, how much is their household income and whether they qualify to stay there longer or not,” he said
Also, he said, people who paid goodwill to some landowners and got land to build houses and paid annual rental had no form of security.
“While it may be good for them to have a place to build a house, the question that arises is of safety and security,” he said.
“They can’t get loans from banks because they don’t have any proper documents to say that the land belongs to them.
“There is also no proper building plan for the houses they construct.”
Mr Hassan, who did his PhD on Sustainable Housing in Fiji, said Government should declare certain places in the country as low-cost housing areas.
He also said there should be bulk buying of building materials for the construction of low-cost housing facilities in the country.
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