African Ministers and Heads of Delegation of Ministries in charge of Housing and Urban Development, African Finance Ministers, the Directors and Management of Shelter Afrique, and representatives of international, regional and national institutions, the private sector and civil society, have agreed to enhance mechanisms for the mass production of decent and affordable housing in the continent to achieve social and economic development.
During a three-day summit at the 40th Annual General Assembly of shelter-Afrique that was held in Yaunde Cameroon, the participants resolved to address the challenges that have hindered the efforts to provide decent and affordable housing in Africa.
In a research concluded by the Shelter-Afrique, a pan African housing finance and development institution, shows that the overall shortage of housing in Africa is estimated at 56 million housing units with out of this, more than 90 per cent are in affordable housing bracket.
The Managing Director and CEO of the Shelter Afrique Group Andrew Chimphondah lauded the participants efforts for making the ‘bold-step’ adding that the Yaoundé Declaration had turned a new page in Africa’s quest for housing-for-all.
“The solution to resolving this shortage lies in a well-coordinated and collaborative effort among all stakeholders, including governments, multilateral institutions, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. I’m happy that the Yaoundé Declaration has highlighted some of these challenges and all stakeholders, including governments, are willing to address the shortage as a matter of urgency,” Mr. Chimphondah said.
Housing Crisis
Most African countries are currently facing a housing crisis driven by high population growth, increased urbanization, poor urban planning, dysfunctional land markets, rising construction costs, proliferation of informal settlements, and underdeveloped financial systems.
The declaration addresses in details the issues of leadership and governance, policies and legislation, coordination, land systems, finance and taxation, capacity building, and adoption of new building technologies.
“Effective policy and legislations is a critical in addressing all these challenges as this will tackle issues around quality control in the delivery of decent and affordable housing, provision of housing to the vulnerable groups, land tenure system, adoption of construction technologies, and even financing. That is why we settled on Four Decades of Housing Policies in Africa as the theme for our 40th Annual General Assembly as we look forward to the next 40 years of affordable housing,” Mr. Chimphondah said.
To ensure the implementation of the resolutions contained in the declaration, the delegates appointed six-member team headed by Shelter Afrique Head of Legal Services Ms. Houda Boudlali and UN Habitat Regional Advisor Dr. Claude Albert Meutchehe Ngomsi as facilitators.
The duo will be assisted by Shelter Afrique Head of Policy, Research and Partnership Dr. Muhammad Gambo and Shelter Afrique Regional Business Manager Edmond Adjikpe as rapporteurs, and Shelter Afrique Ag. Company Secretary Natasha Koli, and Shelter Afrique Head of Communication & External Affairs Babatunde Oyateru as members.
Each member State will be required to designate an interlocutor to report the implementation of the recommendations to the members of the monitoring group who will report on the status of implementation of the resolutions at the next session of the 41st General Assembly of Shelter Afrique in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Member countries in attendance who passed the resolution adopting the declaration included Algeria, Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
About Shelter-Afrique
Shelter-Afrique is a pan African housing finance and development institution established by African governments to address the need for a sustainable housing delivery system and related infrastructure projects in Africa. Shareholders include 44 African countries, the African Development Bank, and the African Re-Insurance Corporation.
The company’s mandate is to provide financing through debt, quasi-equity and equity to both public and private institutions for housing and urban infrastructure projects in its member countries.
Shelter Afrique builds strategic partnerships and offers a host of products and related services to support the efficient delivery of affordable housing and commercial real estate. These include project finance, institutional lending, equity investments & joint ventures, trade finance, and social housing.
it also offers practical advice and technical assistance to a wide range of industry stakeholders.
