The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) has made an initial allocation of N$1.5 billion to assist its members to acquire and renovate properties in the country.
Of the amount, the fund has allocated N$500 million to Namibia Post Limited (NamPost) as part of a debt consolidation scheme which will be offered to its members.
“It’s a big issue. There are many people out there unable to access loans because of that. It’s all for housing-related [costs]. The facility will mainly assist those [members] who are in debts and are unable to secure any loans, thus, with NamPost, the facility will consolidate the debts of the applicants in order to make it affordable and be able to leverage from the service,” GIPF Chief Executive Officer David Nujoma told The Brief in an exclusive interview.
“NamPost has been mandated to run such a financial service of debt consolidation to ease accessibility to funds for our members, in an effort to accelerate house provisions, as we have realised that some members are indebted and unable to qualify for any financial borrowing.”
On when the facility is expected to be introduced, Nuyoma said “as we speak NamPost is ready and this project can be launched at any minute. We have the faith and trust because NamPost has all the banking infrastructures, hence can easily roll it out”.
GIPF pension-backed loans
The GIPF CEO revealed that about a billion will be provided for the implementation of the much-awaited and overdue pension-backed home loans scheme, an initiative that is set to alleviate the housing challenge the country is facing.
This comes as relief to the scores of employees who do not qualify for housing mortgages with local commercial banks. An employee or GIPF member requiring funds to construct a dwelling will have his pension savings used as collateral.
“The close to N$1-billion investment is a moving target, as we want to test the waters and see the viability of the project,” he said.
On the causes for the delay in launching the scheme, Nuyoma said “the scheme was approved by the Board of Directors last year, the only pending issue is for the stakeholder who is the employer to come on board and sign the deal, so that we can immediately implement the project”.
Another bottleneck is the pending deduction code from the Ministry of Finance. “We have done consultations extensively, and we are satisfied with the outcome, hence, urging the employer to come on board soonest,” reiterated Nujoma.
He said in its effort to solve the country’s housing crisis, GIPF has provided funding to the tune of N$1.5 billion to First Capital for the provision of home loans to qualifying individuals.
“As we speak that process went smooth as everything was given out, which was good for business and retains. First Capital now operates on repayment capital, where it is further providing funding to other individuals in need,” Nuyoma said.
Namibia needs at least half a million new homes to meet rising demand, but 90% of Namibian households are not eligible for mortgages, according to the World Economic Forum.
GIPF, which has assets worth N$148 billion, serviced 5,127 plots, constructed 3,721 housing units and financed 2,468 housing loans in the last financial year.
The Fund is a statutory pension body which provides guaranteed pension and related benefits to over 98,623 civil servants, and employees of participating employers in Namibia.
