Rent, politics not linked, says NHC

What you need to know:

  • This was said on Sunday by NHC Director General Nehemiah Mchechu on the weekly Azam TV show ‘Funguka’ hosted by Tido Mhando. The defaulters include Mbowe Hotels Limited (MHL) owned by chairman of the opposition party Chadema Freeman Mbowe.

Dar es Salaam. The National Housing Corporation (NHC) has clarified that the eviction of defaulters with piled up rent arrears is not influenced by politics but rather, based on breach of contracts.

This was said on Sunday by NHC Director General Nehemiah Mchechu on the weekly Azam TV show ‘Funguka’ hosted by Tido Mhando. The defaulters include Mbowe Hotels Limited (MHL) owned by chairman of the opposition party Chadema Freeman Mbowe.

However, Mr Mbowe has alleged that NHC was being manipulated to tarnish his image politically while NHC says MHL is owed at least Sh1 billion for the building at the junction of Mkwepu and Makunganya streets in the city.

“I assure you that under my tenure, the corporation has never received any directives from politicians; we strive to act professionally to improve and maintain our business status,” he said.

Mr Mchechu said in 2012 the CCM’s Parents Wing was evicted from the corporation’s property for failing to pay rents, adding: “But they didn’t complain, instead, it was a wakeup call for them and we eventually recovered our money. Politics should be kept out when it comes to doing business; if we were to be influenced in any way by politicians, we would not have recorded the many achievements we have.”

The NHC boss said the corporation would continue evicting chronic defaulters and ensure efficient collection of rent to finance other projects so as to meet the targeted objectives.