Buy them or move out – Nekundi on Govt houses

Minister of works and transport Veikko Nekundi on Wednesday said government houses or flats have not been maintained and those who stay in them must either buy them or move out.

​He said the scheme will end in June and once the scheme ends, houses will be offered to other civil servants and if they cannot find anyone they will put them on the open market.

Nekundi was responding to a question from former Hardap governor Salomon April regarding concerns that tenants in government-owned houses in the Hardap region had been served with eviction notices, despite maintaining the properties at their own expense.

“The issue is of a serious nature and everybody can agree with me. As far as 99.9% of government houses and flats are concerned, nobody has taken care of the properties that are in a bad state. That is not how government properties ought to be handled. We must be clear it is not a right but a privilege, ” he said.

Nekundi said the government cannot continue paying salaries to employees who live in government properties but fail to maintain them, adding that this situation has created disorder and will no longer be tolerated.

He argued that there are thousands of civil servants who do not live in government houses, adding that people are only allowed to stay in the properties until the age of 60, and that they must vacate them when they resign or are dismissed.

“The choice is given to them. They can take up the offer and buy these properties and we are done with them. Take it or leave it. But you cannot stay there and yet you do not want to buy. This scheme is open until the end of June,” Nekundi said.

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