PUBLIC SERVANTS (HOUSING LOANS SCHEME) ACT - 1975 (NRCD 319)
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(1) The Scheme shall apply in the first instance only to public servants whose salaries are paid directly by the Controller and Accountant-General.
(2) The Commissioner may by executive instrument, and with the prior approval of the National Redemption Council, extend the Scheme to employees in any other part of the public service and may by such instrument make such modifications to the provisions of this Decree, in its application to such employees as may be necessary having regards to the circumstances of that part of the public service.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Decree, a public servant who has completed his period of probation is eligible to apply in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations made under section 25 of this Decree, to the Board established under section 6 of this Decree for a loan for the purpose specified in section 5 of this Decree.
(4) The Scheme shall only apply to citizens of Ghana.
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(1) The amount of loan to be granted under the Scheme shall be determined by the Board and shall be a sum not exceeding ten times the gross annual salary of the applicant. [As substituted by Public Servants (Housing Loans Scheme) (Amendment) Decree, 1978 (SMCD 201), s. 1(i)]
(2) Interest on a loan shall be charged at the rate of two and one-half per centum per annum on the reducing balance of the loan.
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(1) The functions of the Board are:-
(a) to examine applications for loans submitted under section 2 of this Decree;
(b) to grant and recover loans in accordance with the provisions of this Decree;
(c) to enter into contracts and do all things necessary for or incidental or conducive to the purposes of this Decree.
(2) The Board may, for the purposes of this Decree, sue or be sued as it it were a legal person.
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(1) The Board may, subject to the provisions of this Decree, in the exercise of its functions, regulate its own affairs.
(2) The Board may for the discharge of its functions appoint such committees consisting of such persons (whether members of the Board or not) as its thinks fit and any such committee shall perform such functions as the Board may assign to it.
(3) The Board may at any time co-opt any person or persons to act as adviser or advisers at any of its meetings, so however that no person or persons co-opted shall be entitled to vote at any such meeting on any matter for decision by the Board.
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(1) The members of the Board other than the Executive Secretary, appointed under section 11 of this Decree, shall hold office for a period of three years and shall on the expiry of that term be eligible for re-appointment.
(2) A member of the Board other than the Executive Secretary may, at any time, by notice in writing addressed to the Commissioner resign his office, and the National Redemption Council may if it thinks fit at any time terminate the appointment of any such member.
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(1) The Board shall have an Executive Secretary who shall be appointed by the National Redemption Council upon such terms and conditions as the National Redemption Council may determine.
(2) The Executive Secretary shall be the Chief Executive of the Board and shall be responsible for the day-to-day management and administration of the activities of the Board subject to such directions as may be given by the Board.
(3) Where the Executive Secretary is prevented by his absence from Ghana or illness or any sufficient cause from performing his functions under this Decree, the Board may appoint any officer of the Board to act for the Executive Secretary for the duration of his incapacity.
(4) The National Redemption Council shall provide to the Board the services of any public servants as may be needed by the Board for the efficient performance of its functions.
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(1) The expenses of the Board in the exercise of its functions under this Decree shall be paid out of grants made to the Board by the Government.
(2) There shall be a Loans Fund for the operation of the Scheme which shall consist of moneys received by the Board from time to time from the Government or any other source for the purpose.
(3) All sums received by the Board under subsection (2) of this section shall be lodged with the Bank for Housing and Construction as the Board's bankers.
(4) No such money shall be withdrawn from the Bank, except by cheque signed by the Executive Secretary or any person acting for him for the time being under subsection (3) of section 11, and countersigned by two other members of the Board.
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(1) No loan shall be granted under this Decree unless the Board enters into a loan agreement with the borrower.
(2) The borrower shall, in addition to any other terms which the Board considers prudent, undertake a covenant with the Board in the agreement referred to in subsection (1) of this section -
(a) to keep in good repair the property used as security for the loan;
(b) not to assign, mortgage, sublet or otherwise part with the possession of such property or any part thereof without the prior consent in writing of the Board;
(c) to pay the ground rent (if the property is leasehold) at all relevant times and to produce the receipts at the request of the Board;
(d) to pay all property rates and taxes imposed by law in respect of the property in question as well as all outgoings specified by the Board in relation to the property.
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(1) Repayment of the loan and interest thereon shall be by monthly deductions from the salary of the borrower by the Controller and Accountant-General and such deductions shall be paid by the Controller and Accountant-General to the Board who shall credit the amount to the loan account of the borrower.
(2) Where the borrower's salary is paid by any person other than the Controller and Accountant-General, the monthly deductions referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall be made from the borrower's salary by his employer and paid by the employer to the Board who shall credit the amount to the loan account of the borrower.
(3) Where there is any doubt as to the authority or person actually responsible for effecting monthly deductions from the salary of a borrower under subsection (2) of this section that doubt shall be resolved by the Commissioner acting on the advice of the Controller and Accountant-General.
(4) The monthly deductions in respect of both principal loan and interest shall not exceed-
(a) thirty per centum of the borrower's basic monthly salary for the time being as may be determined by the Board, in the case of a person whose gross annual salary does not exceed c3,000.00; and
(b) thirty-five per centum of the borrower's basic monthly salary for the time being as may be determined by the Board, in the case of a person whose gross annual salary exceeds c3,000.00. [As substituted by Public Servants (Housing Loans Scheme) (Amendment) Decree, 1978 (SMCD 201), s. 1(ii)]
(5) The period of repayment of the loan and interest shall not exceed a period of thirty years.
(6) The borrower shall commence repayment of the loan and interest as follows-
(a) in the case of a loan for the purchase of an existing house, on the date of payment of his salary in the third month following the release of the loan;
(b) in the cause of the loan for the building of a new house, on the date of salary payment nine months from the date of first drawing on the loan or two months from the date of completion of the house, whichever is earlier:
Provided that in the case of a loan to which paragraph (b) of this subsection applies, interest shall accrue on any part of the loan released for the purpose of building the house from the day of such release and such interest shall be paid at such times, in such instalments and in such manner as the Board may determine.
(6) (a). The Board may if satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances which justify its doing so, postpone any date prescribed by subsection (6) of this section for the commencement of the repayment of any loan and interest to such later date as it may consider reasonable. [As inserted by the Public Servants (Housing Loans Scheme) (Amendment) Decree, 1977 (SMCD 79), s. 1(ii)]
(7) If any borrower fails or neglects to pay any sum due and payable under this Decree the Board may take legal proceedings to recover it or enforce any security for the loan given by the borrower.
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Where a loan is granted under this Decree, security for the loan shall be provided as follows-
(a) the property shall be mortgaged to the Board;
(b) the title deeds and mortgage deeds relating to the property, duly stamped and registered, shall be deposited with the Board;
(c) a borrower who obtains a loan shall take out in respect of the loan or the property or both, such insurance policy or policies with such insurer and on such terms and conditions as the Board may approve;
(d) the Board shall on the failure of a borrower to take the necessary insurance policies, take the policies for and on behalf of such borrower and debit any moneys paid to the loan account of the borrower and may be recovered by the Board under the provisions of section 15 (7) of this Decree;
(e) further premiums on such insurance policies may be paid by the Board and debited to the loan account of the borrower and may accordingly be recovered by the Board under the provisions of section 15 (7) of this Decree.
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(1) Where the loan granted is intended for the acquisition of an existing residential property, the purchase price shall be paid by the Board direct to the vendor, on the basis of a certificate issued by a valuer approved by the Board.
(2) Where the loan granted is intended for the construction of a new residential property by a contractor, the property shall be constructed by a contractor approved by the Board, to whom payment by instalments shall from time to time be made by the Board on the basis of a certificate issued by a valuer approved by the Board.
(3) Where the constructional works are to be supervised by the borrower, an initial disbursement not exceeding 10 per centum of the approved loan may be made direct to the borrower and subsequent disbursements may be made from time to time on the basis of a certificate of work done issued by a valuer approved by the Board.
(4) Where the construction of a residential property is to be done for the borrower by the Ghana Housing Corporation, the Tema Development Corporation or any other Government Institution, the Board may make such special arrangements as it deems fit for the payment of the cost of the building to such corporation or institution for and on behalf of the borrower.
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Where a borrower is dismissed from the public service, his outstanding loan as at the date of dismissal shall become due and payable immediately, unless the Board accepts a new arrangement for repayment of the loan, but the rate of interest shall be the current commercial rate prevailing as at the date of dismissal.
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Where a borrower resigns to take up an appointment outside the Public Service or becomes self-employed, the Board may, at its discretion, demand immediate payment of the loan outstanding or accept an arrangement for repayment of the outstanding balance to continue at the current commercial rate of interest.
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Where a borrower transfers to any employment approved by the Government, repayment of the remaining balance of the loan shall continue on the same terms as before, subject to any directions given by the Commissioner on the advice of the Controller and Accountant-General as to the authority responsible for making deductions from the borrower's salary.
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Where a borrower retires or dies before he has completed the repayment of the loan, the Board may, at its discretion, permit repayment to continue by the retired officer or in the case of death by his legal successor on the same terms as before, subject to such modifications as the Commissioner may direct.
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(1) The Board shall, as soon as possible after the expiration of each financial year, but within six months after the termination of that financial year, submit to the Commissioner an annual report dealing generally with the activities and operations of the Board within that year which shall include the copy of the audited accounts of the Board together with the Auditor-General's report thereon.
(2) A copy of the annual report of the Board shall be sent by the Board to the Commissioner responsible for Finance.
(3) The Board shall also submit to the Commissioner such other reports on its affairs as the Commissioner may by writing request from time to time.
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(1) The Commissioner may by legislative instrument, make such regulations on the recommendations of the Board, as the Commissioner may think fit for the purpose of giving full effect to the provisions of this Decree.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations may be made thereunder for regulating the grant of loans under the Scheme for effecting the extension of an existing residential property and also for paying off existing loans in respect of property already acquired.
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Paragraph (i) of section 1 of the Public Servants (Housing Loans Scheme) (Amendment) Decree, 1977 (SMCD 79) and also the Public Servants (Housing Loans Scheme) (Amendment) (No. 2) Decree, 1977 (SMCD 87) are hereby repealed. [Inserted by and to be cited as Public Servants (Housing Loans Scheme) (Amendment) Decree, 1978 (SMCD 201) s. 2]
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