Shelter Africa:Experts Want New Policies On Affordable, Decent Housing

The establishment of new and inclusive national housing policies, the mobilisation of financial resources from the informal sector and the effective use of money contributed within the framework of pension schemes have been tabled as key recommendations that will change the narrative of issues related to accommodation. The proposals were made at the 40th General Assembly of Shelter Africa, which brought together some 43 delegations, including Urban Development and Housing, as well as Transport Ministers from across the continent this week. Speaking during the deliberations, experts, including the outgoing Chairman of the General Assembly, James Macharia, who is also Kenya’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister said this was the appropriate time to reflect housing issues.

He proposed that making more money available to municipalities would contribute to solving the problem. “It makes it socially and morally correct that the little money that is paid as taxes is used to help the most needy people in the society. We give that money to municipalities and actually condition and tell them that this money, must only be used for housing. We have organised community groups and we only need a bit of support from the government. We can give them loans with either very low interest rates or interest free loans,” Macharia said.

Another issue raised by participants is the need for the development of local materials. Outfits like the Local Material Promotion Agency, have thus been beseeched to up their game and rise to the challenge. This, experts say will contribute to finding local solutions to the housing problems plaguing the continent. They said transitional accommodation is also becoming very topical, where persons renting houses could eventually own them. “Another model we are proposing is the rent-to-buy model. One can access a house on rental basis, for a given period of time. After 15 to 20 years, he has paid sufficient money for the procurement of that house,” the expert added.

These were discussed as the housing stakeholders charted the way forward, projecting into the next 40 years. They also spent time reviewing the path covered and drawing the lessons therein.

Opening the working sessions on Monday June 21, 2021, the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Joseph Dion Ngute challenged the housing experts to take their deliberations seriously as they will play a crucial role in proffering solutions to the continent’s housing challenges.  “I believe that the battle of housing can be won of we approach it as a crisis,” the PM said.

During the session, Cameroon’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Celestine Ketcha Courtes took the baton of command as he chair of Shelter Africa’s General Assembly.