YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon (CU)_Over the past few years the African continent has been experiencing a rapid urbanisation, which has led to an increase in demand for housing in the countries. The governments across the region are therefore finding it difficult to provide accommodation for this growing number of people who are moving into cities. Therefore, the housing and finance ministers from over 40 countries in the region met in Yaoundé, Cameroon, last week, with the aim of mapping out a course for Africa’s real estate sector.
Accordingly, the participants of the four-day assembly launched a 40-year plan in order to accelerate investments in affordable housing initiatives in the continent. During the meeting, they admitted the importance of the industry for national economies, if and when they have the right investments. “The exponential growth of people moving into cities is not measured up to the available accommodation, and African governments do not have the money to construct the required houses. That’s why we need to continue working with the private sector,” Daniel Garwe, Zimbabwean Minister of the National Housing and Social Amenities, said.
Addressing the gathering, Ghana’s Minister of State for Works and Housing, Freda Akosua Prempeh, emphasised the significance of acquiring land in order to resolve challenges linked to the housing industry. “Land is very critical in affordable housing, and acquiring land in Africa is very challenging and cumbersome,” she said. “What we are doing in Ghana is to acquire land, sell the land, give it out to investors then we look at the funding, financing, and marketing aspects through mortgage financing.”
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Housing, and Urban Development, James Wainaina Macharia, stressed the importance of focusing on local production in the development of infrastructure across the region, pointing out that the use of local labour and material would create job opportunities in the region while also lowering the cost of house construction.
The meeting was held last week under the auspices of Shelter Afrique, the only pan-African finance institution that exclusively supports the development of affordable housing and real estate sector development in Africa. Speaking during the event, Shelter Afrique’s managing director Andrew Chimphondah said: “We’ve achieved financial viability and made profit in 2020, and our financial sustainability is now showing our relevance to our shareholders. We are convinced that every country that is contributing to Shelter Afrique will be able to obtain loans to fund its projects.”
