The Auditor-General has recommended that Housing Authority carry out periodic surveys of the properties on housing developments.
This to ensure they were occupied by the original recipients and that the authority should seriously consider stringent measures to ensure that the sale of properties was only done in exceptional circumstances, to avoid recipients obtaining lots at a subsidised price and re-selling at the market price.
This request is in the Auditor-General’s Housing Authority – Special Investigation on Allotment of Lots and Tender Process report that was tabled in Parliament on Monday.
“Based on the information provided by the authority we noted that there is no control over the sale of property at the Tacirua sub-division,” the report read.
“This is mainly due to land ownership being with the iTLTB.
“The authority has a sublease in Wainibuku and as such was able to include a clause in the lease agreement in relation to the sale of property.
“According to the offer letter between the authority and the customer, there is no restriction on the sale of the lot by the original recipient.
“However, there are conditions in the event that a sale is made.
“We have not obtained sufficient evidence to conclude if the lot transfer from the original owner had been properly approved by relevant authorities.
“We also noted that the authority does not have established mechanisms in place to ensure that any breach of lease conditions is detected and effectively dealt with.”
