Houses, land for bank staff

Business, Normal
Source:

The National, Monday May 11th, 2015

 By GYNNIE KERO

A TOTAL of 100 employees of Bank South Pacific will receive their land titles and 

eventually own their own homes in Port Moresby.

Their names were drawn last Friday, with more than half being female employees from various sections of the bank.

A land title is a requirement for an applicant to be eligible to own a home under its First Home Ownership Scheme.

The agreement for the scheme was signed between the Government and Bank of South Pacific Ltd last September.

Under the terms of the agreement, BSP would provide housing loans to approved first home borrowers over a 40-year term at an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum.

Last Friday, it was made known that the Government had allocated 100 allotments to BSP for  the  housing programme to be piloted at Gerehu Stage 3B.

National Planning Acting Secretary Hakaua Harry said the Government planned that local workers owned homes.

“We have approached and received a lot of interest from the private sector towards the programme. Bank South Pacific is the first (from private sector) to come on board,” she said.

Executive director of the Office of Urbanisation Max Kep said:  “There are a lot of partners who are in this project to make it work and our job is to co-ordinate the allocation to various agencies.”

BSP chief executive officer Robin Fleming thanked the Government for the allotments. 

“The interest seen within BSP and the number of people who want to own a house, reinforces the idea that land is a basic need and a requirement, particularly in the urban areas of PNG,” he said.

“We must have affordable housing for staff of all organisations.