BY FK Male Housing experts have revealed that there is a challenge to land accessibility and acquisition because of several people who occupy land without clear documents and set up homes.
While addressing journalists on Tuesday at Habitat for Humanity headquarters about the upcoming second National housing symposium in October this year, it was mentioned that people from the informal sector who make the bigger population are culprits of undocumented land and house ownership.
Dave Khayangayanga the Director of Housing at the Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development highlighted that Buganda Kingdom is one of the big landlords in Kampala where several people have encroached on that land and formed slums without clear documents.
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Khayangayanga added that there are also other various landlords whose land is occupied by the squatters and developed slums. He noted that during the National housing symposium, all these challenges will be discussed to bring development on the land by constructing affordable housing units.
“There is a need to establish affordable houses for the average Ugandan so that everyone can have a place they call home, it’s not good to build a house for twenty years when you start it at 40 years by the time you enter it is when you’re about to die because of our life expectancy”. Khayangayanga added.
Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa, the Buganda Finance Minister and the board chairman of Habitat for Humanity told journalists that during the symposium they are to discuss providing innovative ways that can solve the housing challenges to improve the housing sector in the country.
He added that there is also a need to promote enterprise development to accommodate new ideas and innovations and share knowledge and slowly showcase the best practices.
The Buganda Finance Minister revealed that soon they are to commission the parliamentary forum for housing which will be used to advocate for better housing in the country and also to help to front laws that help to regulate the housing sector and also enforce proper budgeting for the sector by parliament.
Habitat for Humanity National Director Robert Otim said that to improve and develop the informal settlements, they are looking at building affordable condominiums where urban dwellers can own a house with documents of ownership at an affordable rate to an average Ugandan.
Habitat for Humanity is a housing organization in Uganda which aims at eliminating poverty and housing for vulnerable communities. It is to work with Buganda Kingdom, the central government, and the private sector partners to improve the housing deficit and land accessibility in the country.
Over 1.8 billion people worldwide live in overcrowded informal settlements with not enough houses and limited access to essential basic services. Uganda currently faces a growing housing deficit of 2.4 million housing units. And it is estimated that around 900,000 housing units are substandard. As the country’s population shoots up, the need for housing units also goes up