PARLIAMENTARY Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism has expressed its dismay over implementation of National Housing Corporation (NHC) four mega projects.
The projects include Morocco Square, Seven Eleven – Kawe, Golden Premier Residence – Kawe and Plot 300 Regent Estate Mikocheni. The committee has observed that the projects require 183.5bn/ to be completed and there is no such fund.
“These projects were hatched and started to be implemented in 2012 and 2013 and were to be completed between 2015 and 2016,” noted the committee Chairperson Ms Kemilembe Lwota. It is almost four years since the deadline for the completion of the projects elapsed.
The committee blamed delayed disbursement of funds for the stuttering projects for “The projects were earlier estimated to cost about 338.1bn/- and already 154.6bn/- spent and now NHC is indebted over 10.6bn/-,” stated the committee Chairperson Ms Kemilembe Lwota.
The committee argued that due to such delay, costs of the projects were soaring owing to loan interest, shilling depreciation, additional costs following redesigning of the buildings, and costs of reconstruction.
“The delay does not only devalue the projects but also cause an alarm of occupancy as some of prospective clients had already secured loans from banks to buy some of the houses,” the committee stated.
It recommended, among other things, NHC and the government to change mode of repayment of loans from US dollars to Tanzanian shilling, to rescue the corporation from further heavy debts.
Meanwhile, the committee noted with concern that the National Planning Commission for Land Use had no sufficient funds to carry out significant projects such as the land use planning project.
It also recommended that the Commission be promoted to Authority in order to have more powers. The committee further noted that there were only 55 district lands and housing tribunals, while the country is having more than 120 districts.
“Since the establishment of these tribunals on October 1, 2003 up to December 2019, only 55 tribunals have been formed. This has caused inconveniences to many people and has pushed up operational costs,” stated Ms Lwota.
