—- Southern Province Minister Josephine Limata has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to consider providing housing loans to civil servants who have been relocated from Livingstone to Choma, the new provincial headquarters for the province.
Ms Limata said this is because the cost of rentals in Choma has become abnormally high, citing houses that were costing KR1, 000 monthly being pegged at KR4, 000.
The minister said this is beyond the reach of most civil servants who are in desperate need of housing accommodation following their transfer to Choma.
Ms Limata noted that the cost of housing in Choma has become more expensive than even Lusaka.
The provincial minister said there is need for the ministry of finance to treat the Choma situation as a special case because most civil servants will not be able to get descent accommodation if they are not assisted with home ownership loans.
Ms Limata said this when Defence Minister Godfrey Mwamba and his Home Affairs counterpart Edgar Lungu paid a courtesy call on her at her office in Choma today.
And Defence Minister Godfrey Mwamba assured Ms Limata that he will inform the relevant authorities about the accommodation challenges in Choma.
Mr Mwamba said government is fully aware of the need for adequate resource allocation to newly realigned districts.