The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
AFRICAN countries should adopt sustainable housing finance to achieve inclusive and sustainable development in line with the continent’s Agenda 2063.
Agenda 2063 is a blueprint for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future.
This was said by National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe, who is also the incoming chairperson of Shelter Afrique Bureau, during the ongoing 41st Shelter Afrique annual general meeting in Victoria Falls.
The conference, which running under the theme ‘Climate Change and the Built Environment’, seeks to deliberate on housing issues and address looming challenges to the built environment caused by climate change.
Minister Garwe said there is a huge gap between housing needs and available financial resources.
“According to Shelter Afrique research arm, Centre of Excellence, the overall shortage of housing in Africa is estimated to be 56 million housing units.
“This area is worth exploring as we work towards inclusive and sustainable development within the context of Agenda 2063,” he said.
“We may need to consider coming up with ways of creating a conducive environment, which builds a case to invest in our various projects, cognisant of the fact that housing and infrastructure provision are by nature capital intensive and most governments struggle to obtain adequate funding for infrastructure provision.”
