Dear Editor,
Does the government and/or Ministry of Housing know that receiving a piece of land from either institution is not a charitable exercise? I ask this because of the manner in which the Housing Ministry operates. There are a number of points that aggravate me when I think about this institution’s modus operandi.
First and foremost, Customer Service: To emphasize my point about the perceived charity, when one visits or calls this institution, some (not all) of the staff operate as though they are doing the potential land owner a favour – no not a favour, like they are extending charity. There is noting charitable about the operations of the Ministry of Housing or receiving a piece of land. In order to procure this land one has to pay a fee and in this case the fee was $500,000. However, I guess this level of customer appreciation – or lack thereof – can be found in many Government/Public institutions.
Secondly, the time wasted in dealing with this organization is unbelievable. After paying for my land since October 2006 I still cannot complete my transaction with the financial institution, since I have to wait for the Minister to sign whatever it is that he has to sign. Does this Minister know he is paid to serve and not to be served? Everyday the minister does not sign is a day longer I have to wait to construct my home while having to pay more rent.
I will use this opportunity to guide any potential land owner, on some of the other inconveniences they may encounter along the way in acquiring a piece of land from the government/ministry of housing.
After many wasted hours and countless phone calls, the potential land owner is given a letter stating that he/she has been allotted a piece of land in a specified area.
In order to receive the land, one has to pay half of the cost of the land after which they are given a letter stating the agreement(s) of sale, this is the easiest part, or so I think.
Now the frustrations begin. Having garnered your funds and paid the Ministry its monies, you are unable to see the plot allocated, because the Ministry is short of personnel to actually show you the allotted plot of land. None of the thinkers at the Ministry saw it pertinent to mark out these house lots in a manner easily visible, so the owner could take it upon him/herself to visit the site.
After a few weeks, an official will call to say a site visit will be conducted and you are expected to be there, having no regard for the fact that some of us work and would have already taken a great amount of time off from our employer, who in some cases (even though they accommodate you) are very angry to grant its staff the constant request for time off.
Now that you know where your lot is located, the entire sum is paid off, the financial institution approved your loan, you then have to go back to the Ministry (probably to get down on your knees this time around) to await the minister’s signature on your letter of assurance. The bank will not release its funds without this letter, hence you are left wasting time when you could have been getting valuable work done.
Yours faithfully,
(name and address supplied)
