Permanent Secretary Charles Hinga has confirmed that Affordable Housing interns under the BOMA YANGU programme will be paid on Thursday following a payroll delay. He attributed the issue to a mix-up between two exchequer budgets. Even senior ministry officials, including himself, have not received last month's salaries.
Charles Hinga, Permanent Secretary in the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, made the announcement during an NTV interview where an Affordable Housing BOMA YANGU intern questioned him on the delayed payments.
“Hi, please ask the PS if he is aware that the BOMA YANGU interns have not been paid last month’s stipend,” the intern asked. Hinga responded, “It should come today, or tomorrow, or later Thursday; they should be paid. But I will follow up today immediately I leave this place.”
He explained the delay stemmed from a mix-up in two payrolls: one from the National Treasury and the other from the housing levy under the Affordable Housing Board. This prevented the ministry's financial department from disaggregating them.
Hinga noted that senior officials, including himself, also remain unpaid for last month. He dismissed rumours of insufficient funds, confirming the ministry had received the necessary allocations from the National Treasury. “But the money we have, it is just some, it's a mistake that should not have happened in terms of processing the two payrolls,” he reaffirmed.