Are 470 000 housing units in 10 years achievable?

16 Dec, 2019 - 17:12 0 Views
Are 470 000 housing units in 10 years achievable? Minister Daniel Garwe

eBusiness Weekly

Tawanda Musarurwa & Enacy Mapakame

Earlier this week, National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe announced that Government looking to deliver at least 470 000 housing units across the country within the next decade as part of efforts to alleviate the housing shortages.

The programme will be implemented under the National Housing Delivery Programme.

With rural-to-urban migration increasing in the country thereby further pushing the housing demand, the shortage of affordable public housing has become a contentious issue that needs to be addressed.

It is why this Government set target is commendable. It’s a key step in having local authorities and the Government beginning to play their roles in respect of the provision of housing and accommodation to its citizenry, as opposed to leaving this responsibility to clearly under-capacitated housing cooperatives and individuals.

Experts have estimated that the country requires at least 20 years to clear its national housing backlog of circa 1,4 million housing units.

But the question on many a Zimbabwean mind is: how achievable is this goal given the prevailing economic circumstances?

Industry players say the target is achievable with the right level of commitment and strategies.

Said immediate past president for Real Estate Institute of Zimbabwe (REIZ) Mike Juru:

“470 000 low cost houses in 10 years basically means 47 000 houses a year. In 2018 there were about 30 000 developments across the country and this was done when this was still under Ministry of Local Government which involved a lot of things like chiefs. But now we have a Ministry dedicated for housing development, so this means the impetus is there

“It is achievable, we have a Minister dedicated to this, and Government is not doing this alone but engaging other players to take a leading role, for instance the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe.

“Government also understands they need private sector to achieve this and are doing that to engage them. It is important to note that these houses are low cost, for low income earners, smaller units, it would be problematic if we needed big houses like those in Borrowdale. We can surely achieve this with the local resources that we have in the country. The land is available and we have construction and related companies ready to supply the market with materials

“Recently, PPC commissioned another cement plant and this is a boost to the construction industry, another company that started in Mutare.”

Perhaps another crucial question to answer is, does Government alone have the financial wherewithal to sustain this project?

Maybe not on its own, but it can leverage on partnerships with private financiers.

Minister Garwe this week told this publication that Government was in the middle of negotiations with Pan-African finance institution, Shelter Afrique, for the financing of a low-cost housing project.

Details are yet to be revealed as the negotiations are ongoing, but Shelter Afrique has outlined its capacity to provide appropriately structured financing for affordable housing projects.

“We recognise that the key challenges with construction finance is having institutions that understand the construction life-cycle. In many countries we that because of a lack of understanding of that project lifecycle vis—vis the financing that’s provided, developers end up going into default before the projects starts,” said Shelter Afrique managing director Andrew Chimphondah.

“When you look at the value chain, from the minute the land is identified, zoned and then infrastructure is built.

“What we are saying is we have a package that looks at the total lifecycle and matches the funding with the lifecycle, which you don’t get with local institutions. The reason that we do that is because the success of large-scale affordable housing units needs a financier that understands construction, that understands project funding for it to succeed.”

The construction of 470 000 houses, even as it will be spread across the country, will require a lot of virgin land.

Does Government have the (financial) capacity to service vast swathes of virgin land with the requisite amenities?

One observer said it was critical that delivery of the intended units should consist of a significant portion of high-rise buildings.

“In our view at least 30 percent of the targeted land for housing development should be reserved for construction of flats. High-rise or multi-storey buildings that can accommodate a lot of people per square kilometre can go a long way on easing the burden of servicing the land with access roads, sewerage and water reticulation,” she said, declining to be named.

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