Affordable Housing Discussions

Oct. 3, 2017, 6:23 a.m.

Attorney General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says they have had informal discussions with the Fiji National Provident Fund about how they can develop affordable housing assistance.

While speaking at the Strengthening Pension and Health Coverage in the Pacific Forum, Sayed-Khaiyum said that there is a trend in Fiji that people buy their first home in their late 30s or in their 40s.

He says the discussions will enable a 25-year-old to access funds to buy their first home.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the superannuation fund in Singapore allows members to draw in excess of upto 60% of their total savings to contribute to the purchase of their first home.

Meanwhile Sayed-Khaiyum says he has an issue with FNPF being mooted as one of the better organisations to be able to provide Health Insurance Cover.

He says we need to have full tertiary medical care available in Fiji to be able to provide good health cover locally.

Sayed-Khaiyum says another reason on why he has an issue with the Health Insurance Cover by FNPF is that there are thousands of people in Fiji who are not part of the formal employment sector.

He says we need to ensure that when we talk about health cover in Fiji we do not forget the people that are not part of the formal employment sector.

This article was originally published by www.fijivillage.com on November 3, 2016.