AFRICA REQUIRES FOUR MILLION HOUSING UNITS PER ANNUM

The Pan-African housing
development financier, Shelter Afrique, has said that African continent
requires four million housing units per year to meet its housing needs, adding
that the continent is facing acute housing crisis.

According to Shelter Afrique, the
majority of African countries are facing a housing crisis as a result of high
population growth, increased urbanisation and low supply of affordable housing.

At the inauguration of Karibu
Homes, a low-cost housing project financed by the organisation, Shelter Afrique
Chairman, Daniel Nghidinua, said the situation is compounded by lack of
affordable housing finance, high cost of urban land and weak tenure security,
rising construction costs and rapid growth in slums.

The company is now calling for a
stronger public-private-partnership to address the shortage.

Shelter Afrique MD and CEO,
Andrew Chimphondah, said several countries in the continent are facing huge
housing backlog, adding that urgent action was needed to stave-off the crisis.

“It doesn’t matter which
country you are referring to any more. Uganda is facing an annual deficit of
1.6 million housing units, Kenya 2 million housing units, Tanzania 3 million
housing units, South Africa 3 million housing units, and Nigeria 17 million
housing units. Wherever you go, it’s a crisis and it is incumbent upon us to
heed the call to action,” Chimphondah said.

Nghidinua noted that even though
the housing backlog was a challenge, it wasn’t insurmountable, adding that
Shelter Afrique was committed to affordable housing for all in Africa and that
the organisation was keen on forging smart partnerships aimed at creating
growth with scale.

“We believe this challenge
represents an opportunity for coordinated actions and investments by various
governments, private sector players, and communities across the continent.
Through smart partnerships, we want to focus on the lower end of the affordable
housing market chain to be able to address this housing crisis”, Nghidinua
said.

In a recent report, the
UN-Habitat blamed the huge housing deficits in Africa to poor response of
governments to the issue, ignorance by governments on the housing issue, land
delivery systems, urban planning and poor organisation of construction sectors
in most African countries.

The Pan-African housing development financier, Shelter Afrique, has said that African continent requires four million housing units per year to meet its housing needs, adding that the continent is facing acute housing crisis.

According to Shelter Afrique, the
majority of African countries are facing a housing crisis as a result of high
population growth, increased urbanisation and low supply of affordable housing.

At the inauguration of Karibu
Homes, a low-cost housing project financed by the organisation, Shelter Afrique
Chairman, Daniel Nghidinua, said the situation is compounded by lack of
affordable housing finance, high cost of urban land and weak tenure security,
rising construction costs and rapid growth in slums.

The company is now calling for a
stronger public-private-partnership to address the shortage.

Shelter Afrique MD and CEO,
Andrew Chimphondah, said several countries in the continent are facing huge
housing backlog, adding that urgent action was needed to stave-off the crisis.

“It doesn’t matter which
country you are referring to any more. Uganda is facing an annual deficit of
1.6 million housing units, Kenya 2 million housing units, Tanzania 3 million
housing units, South Africa 3 million housing units, and Nigeria 17 million
housing units. Wherever you go, it’s a crisis and it is incumbent upon us to
heed the call to action,” Chimphondah said.

Nghidinua noted that even though
the housing backlog was a challenge, it wasn’t insurmountable, adding that
Shelter Afrique was committed to affordable housing for all in Africa and that
the organisation was keen on forging smart partnerships aimed at creating
growth with scale.

“We believe this challenge
represents an opportunity for coordinated actions and investments by various
governments, private sector players, and communities across the continent.
Through smart partnerships, we want to focus on the lower end of the affordable
housing market chain to be able to address this housing crisis”, Nghidinua
said.

In a recent report, the UN-Habitat blamed the huge housing deficits in Africa to poor response of governments to the issue, ignorance by governments on the housing issue, land delivery systems, urban planning and poor organisation of construction sectors in most African countries.https://allafrica.com/stories/201904230072.html