Findings from the Kigali housing demand market survey, released this week, offer some few home truths about the crippling housing situation in the city. One of them is that the city needs at least 344,068 new housing units over the next ten years to accommodate the rapidly growing population that is projected to rise from the current 1.1 million to two million by 2022. The report further indicates that half of the 223,000 houses in Kigali are in good shape, 32 per cent in dire need of upgrading, while the rest are low quality structures in slums.The City of Kigali certainly has its work cut out. But now the hard work begins now. KCC must play a central role in bringing together all the stakeholders including the central government, developers, beneficiaries, financial institutions and residents to provide a coordinated approach to attain the 2022 goal. Whatever the options, the fact is that the market cannot accommodate demand without government lending a hand. It must devise strategies that aim to accelerate real estate investments but also ensure that any targets set take into account potential problems such as economic changes or scarcity of land.It may also devise a policy that targets public sector workers to apply for support to purchase or upgrade their homes. This could easily persuade other private sector employers to follow suit.There is also the issue of mortgage facilities that have, for long, not been attractive to would-be home owners due to high interest rates. Financial institutions may reach an understanding with other stakeholders like government to scale down their interest rates to manageable levels, for instance, through a subsidy regime. This would certainly encourage citizens to utilise the facility.Lastly are developers who would, as expected, pay closer attention to a market that has all vital ingredients for higher returns.Whatever way, while the vision to restructure the city’s housing sector may seem a rather tall order, KCC ought to spearhead the process.
