In 1997, this newspaper reported that tenants at the Matavolivoli Housing Estate in Nadi expressed disappointment over a Housing Authority of Fiji proposal to increase their loan repayments.
Resident Aqela Whippy, who lived in one of the authority’s three-bedroom homes, said some tenants had been told they would be relocated to a nearby subdivision if they could not meet the new repayment amounts.
“We have lived here for three years now, but our latest statement still states that we owe $42,000,” she said in an article published in The Fiji Times on June 14 that year.
“The house was bought for $41,000 and carries a monthly interest charge of $380. During the time we were paying $400 a month, we were in fact only paying $20 towards the principal amount.”
Mrs Whippy said tenants were initially paying $250 a month before the amount increased to $300 and then to $408.
“Last week, we were asked to pay $492 a month. We don’t know why.”
She said many tenants had committed their Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) savings towards purchasing homes they now occupy.
Housing Authority of Fiji’s then board chairman Sitiveni Weleilakeba said loan repayments were only increased when customers’ accounts were in arrears.
He said most Matavolivoli tenants had fallen behind on their repayments, and the proposed relocation to a nearby subdivision was intended to ease their financial burden.
“Most of the tenants can’t afford the repayments, so the move to the subdivision is to lessen the impact on their pockets,” he said.
He added that any request for increased repayments was unrelated to the recent renovation works carried out at the estate.
“We are looking at it carefully at this stage, but it does need to be sorted out. Our records also do not show any tenant registering complaints with us.”
The Housing Authority of Fiji handed over completion certificates to 91 tenants for repair works carried out in the same year, with another 38 houses expected to be certified.
The repair works, costing $700,000, were undertaken following complaints from tenants about defects in their homes.
