ForoyaaEditorial : Is The Housing Project At Kanilai Meant For Farmers? When Will The Young Workers Get Housing? 
 
A young person who is in his early 30s and who has been employed for a decade raised the issue of housing with Foroyaa. According to him, he
is living from hand to mouth and cannot make any savings. He wondered
how he would ever be able to build a house of his own.
 
This is a very important issue and as such maximum effort should be
made to start a nationwide discussion on the subject.
A review of the housing question in the sub-region and elsewhere would
reveal an attempt to link employment with housing projects. In short,
institutions are established which build low cost housing at
identified sites and then receive payment by monthly installments from
those who are allocated the houses.
 
In the Gambia, the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC), which is serving 88,170 employees and has net assets valued at 3.5
billion or 3500 Million dalasi as of 2008, is charged with the
responsibility of providing housing according to its capacity.
However, if the company is to have strategic direction the Government
must come up with a policy on how it is to invest its resources to
serve the interest of those who are contributors to the Fund. One of
the best ways it could have been done is for the government to transfer all pension
schemes to Social Security and to pay the amount due for
pensioners on an annual basis to Social Security and then
leave the company to implement government policy on the provision of
low cost housing without any interference or dictation from any other
authority.
 
Currently, any analyst would be left in a state of limbo as to what
the housing policy of the government is. According to the government,
the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation "embarked on the
acquisition and banking of prime residential land in all regions of
the country. To date, 15 sites have been acquired including the sites
at Faraba Banta , Kanilai, Soma, Kwinella, Japineh. The Housing
Project at Kanilai is planned for a three phase development,
commencing with 350 serviced plots as Phase 1, with the provision of
100 percent electricity and water supplies and selected road networks.
It will also construct residential accommodation for both students and
staff of the new Science Academy."
 
The fundamental question to ask is how Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation will recover the money. Foroyaa wishes to remind the Gambia Government that it has made commitment to construct a University at Faraba Banta. Currently, the interest on government debt consumes 20 percent of government revenue in 2009. It would have been worse if the country was not placed under the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative.
 
Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation should link construction of houses to contribution to the Fund and to monthly remuneration. Any other scheme would end up in government having to finance what is owed by defaulters from public funds or push SSHFC towards financial difficulties in meeting its obligations. 




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