On Friday, April 14, it emerged that several civil servants had not received their title deeds despite clearing their mortgage payments.
In a departmental meeting with the National Assembly Special Funds Account Committee, Principal Secretary State Dept for Housing and Urban Development was grilled over the hitch, which had left almost three-quarters of civil servants stranded.
Migori Woman Representative and committee chair told the PS that civil servants could not even use their property after the government's delay in giving them title deeds.
"Almost three quarter do not have title deeds of property they have been paying for. We find that quite unfortunate," Fatuma Mohammed, the National Assembly Special Funds Account Committee Chairperson, stated.
Responding to National Assembly Special Funds Account Committee queries, PS Hinga attributed the delay to digitisation challenges.
He further stated various processes at the National Treasury had slowed down the process.
"Our challenges are so many processes that do not add much value," the PS stated.
Hinga called for institutional reforms at the National Treasury, which he argued would help expedite title deed processing at the Ministry of Lands.
In 2021, over 1,321 civil servants were given mortgages. Data showed that the Civil Servants Housing Scheme Fund (CSHSF) indicated that the government remitted Ksh6.2 billion in loans to help civil servants build or purchase houses.
The scheme intended to encourage the uptake of mortgages among civil servants. It allowed them to access loans and pay their mortgage up to five years after their retirement age of 60.
It was rolled out in 2015 in the public service to attract and retain top talent in the face of increasing competition from the private sector.
The National Treasury fully funds the loan scheme.
