NHC chair, boss have their hands full
Buildings whose construction has stalled at NHC’s Kawe satellite city project site in Dar es Salaam. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Nineteen months since President John Magufuli rescinded the appointment of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) board chairperson, the body has had no board, resulting into delays in execution of its projects.
- The new NHC board chairperson and the new Director General will have to contend with four corruption allegations bedeviling NHC; responding to some queries by the CAG on NHC’s activities; securing funds for NHC’s stalled projects as well as shifting from expensive to low-cost buildings if they are to go abreast with expectations of President John Magufuli’s administration.
Dar es Salaam. The two Ardhi University lecturers appointed to manage National Housing Corporation (NHC) face a daunting task.
President John Magufuli yesterday appointed Dr Sophia Kongela NHC board chairperson, while the Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Mr William Lukuvi, named Dr Maulid Banyani as the troubled corporation’s new director general. Dr Kongela fills the position that fell vacant after President Magufuli sacked former NHC board chairperson Blandina Nyoni in March 2017.
No reason was given for Ms Nyoni’s removal, but Dr Magufuli had previously voiced his concern about financial impropriety within NHC and “divisive politics” in the management and among board members.
A few days after Ms Nyoni was sacked, Mr Lukuvi dissolved the board before suspending director general Nehemiah Mchechu in December 2017. Mr Mchechu’s appointment was officially rescinded on June 20, 2018
Nineteen months have passed since NHC last had a board. The corporation also went four months without a director general.
Corruption
Commissioning NHC’s Iyumbu housing project in Dodoma last December, President Magufuli commended the corporation for undertaking various projects around the country, but warned against what he said was the misuse of funds by the board and management.
Dr Magufuli also publicly rejected Mr Mchechu’s request for government permission to acquire a loan that would enable NHC to implement its projects.
He said the government could not issue a loan guarantee when it knew that the money would be misappropriated.
“Initially, we issued a guarantee for a Sh360 billion loan, but at some point board meetings were being held in Dubai. We will no longer issue guarantees.
“Such guarantees have been suspended after it became apparent that money was being misused…we knew that you would come begging as you are doing now,’’ Dr Magufuli said.
NHC has also been dogged by allegations of conflict of interest involving some top officials whenever tenders are floated.
This is among a myriad of problems the new board under Dr Kongela’s leadership and Dr Banyani are expected to address as a matter of urgency.
CAG’s Sh111 million query
In his audit report for 2016/17, the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) questioned the circumstances under which Sh111 million was purportedly spent on the Iyumbu project.
“There is no proof of payments totalling Sh111,253,180 being made to three entities that purportedly supplied building materials and services for the project. NHC should ensure that all the relevant supporting documents are produced for our review,” the CAG said in the report.
It is up to the new board and director general to ensure that NHC provides answers to queries raised in the CAG’s report.
Stalled projects
During the 19 months that NHC had no board of directors, a number of the corporation’s key projects stalled due to lack of funds. They include the Sh473 billion Kawe satellite city project in Dar es Salaam.
The project, which includes construction of eight high-rise buildings each having 18 storeys, shopping malls and other amenities, has stalled for a year now after NHC failed to secure Sh232 billion in credit. The NHC management was banking on the government to guarantee it to borrow the money to sustain construction and avoid costly litigation should unpaid contractors and suppliers lose patience.
Low cots houses
The new chairperson and director general will be expected to come up with a plan that will strike a balance between completion of projects worth tens of billions of shillings and a desire to shift to construction of low-cost houses in line with what the government expects.
NHC is expected to put more emphasis on the development of low-cost housing units.
Currently, prices of the cheapest houses being sold by NHC range from Sh30 million to Sh52 million, excluding value added tax.
In 2016, Mr Lukuvi was quoted saying that this is still too expensive for low-income earners, and directed NHC to start building houses affordable to low-income earners.
He said the corporation should stop initiating new projects for affluent buyers and instead concentrate on completing existing projects so that the money earned from them can be used in the construction of low-cost housing units.
