Home ownership scheme serves a minority

THE public service home ownership scheme (PSHOP) under the Department of Personnel Management is a farce and only serves the interest of a minority.
The idea of giving public servants an opportunity to own a home sounds great.
Take a closer look and you find only a handful of public servants will benefit from this scheme.
The immediate need of the public service is housing or accommodation, not home ownership.
Home ownership is a personal, long-term goal.
The DPM should be looking at schemes that benefit the public service and government like institutional housing.
Institutional housing is an im­me­diate solution to the housing woes.
It will provide affordable ac­com­modation for public servants and give the opportunity to decide whether to enter the PSHOP or not.
Some public servants may wish to spend their retirement back in their home provinces.
Home ownership can be a pain, especially when the scheme makes you indebted to the bank.
The strenuous screening pro­cess for loans is also a bummer.
The majority of public servants who are in need of housing may not be potential candidates for loans because their salary level is low.
This will result in the rejection of the masses, leaving only a few eligible which is unfair to the rest.
If the DPM and national go­vern­ment are serious about addressing the housing/accommodation issues, then they should look at institutional housing instead of the PSHOP.

Bensco
Port Moresby