The Ministry of Urban Development & Construction (MoUDC) is to launch a new housing scheme designed for parastatal employees, in September 2013. This is on the top of the eight existing housing schemes. A scheme specifically intended for the Diaspora community is also on the way.
The new housing scheme requires each parastatal to pay the full cost of its employees’ houses in advance. They will then seek repayment from their workers. Employees will have the option of either paying in cash or working a predetermined number of years at the institution to pay back the money.
“A directive to implement this housing programme is being prepared. It includes payment procedures and terms of agreement between the organisation and its employees,” Mekuria Haile, minister of the MoUDC explained, at a press briefing on Saturday, August 17, 2013.
Out of the 2.5 million employed population in urban areas, 39pc, or 980,868, are employed in government parastatal, according to the 2012 Urban Employment Unemployment Survey, published by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA).
“The registration for this programme will start on September 26, 2013 and will last for 15 days,” he added.
Mekuria also said that after the registration for this housing scheme is finalised, the government will follow a new system instead of the current system, where applicants have to wait for a registration period.
‘‘The new system will allow applicants to register and start saving at any time, and construction will be based on the demand. This is expected to be implemented in about five years,’’ he explained.
Despite the fact that the Diaspora community is participating in the 40/60 housing scheme, the Ministry is also planning to launch a new scheme that exclusively embraces them.
This scheme requires Diaspora members to pay the full price of the house in advance. It also has incentives for registrants who choose cities other than Addis Abeba as their primary choice, such as larger land sizes.
Registration for this scheme will be held in Ethiopia’s embassies and consulates, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Mekuria.
‘‘So far, the Ministry has not decided on a timeframe for the start of registration,’’ he said.
Leave a Reply