How govt can address current housing shortage

Shortage of accommodation facilities is still a humanitarian problem for a significant percentage of the population world over. 

We know that a decent housing facility ranks top among the basic needs of humans. We can see the desperate need for housing by the people who run away to live in displacement camps.

We see competition for a roof over the heads of immigrants, refugees and internally displaced persons. We also see competition for this need among people who are not displaced. 

Housing does not come cheaply and that is why today, humanity is faced with serious lack. 

Wars and conflicts continue to push people to look for settlements.  On the other hand, natural calamities  such as mudslides, flooding and eruption of mountains too often  destroy houses and settlements of people, forcing them to wander from place to place to find accommodation. 

However, governments’ world over have not given this issue the priority it deserves.  Many big cities have huge numbers of people living in poor accommodation. 

In Africa, there is growing competition for proper shelter,safety and security. People need housing for good health and hygiene, well-being and dignity.

Africa looks to be struggling the most to find and afford habitable housing facilities for its people. There is no plan in place to have every household live in habitable shelter.

It has been a very long and torturous milestone to deliver this in Africa.

With the growth of towns and population, the responsibility to deliver this, is huge on the shoulders of departments responsible for housing in Africa. 

The attraction of the urban centres for opportunities means that the African will continue to move daily from the rural areas to the urban to take advantage of this opportunity. And when they arrive, they expect to find proper accommodation to facilitate them to start their lives. 

It is a big task, starting from the land on which we should build these affordable housing units, which is not easy to find, thanks to the land tenure system. Experts continue to scratch their greyed heads to try to deliver solutions. There are attempts to bring solutions to the housing shortage, as we saw in the first-ever Africa housing forum that took place in Nairobi on May 12. 

Hundreds of participants came together to look for innovative solutions to housing inadequacy. The aim is to replace the informal settlements with properly planned settlements.

In Uganda, we already have a starting point on which we can build the initiatives. The good working relationship with the private sector and civil society should be enhanced. 

Non-governmental organisations have constructed low-cost housing facilities for vulnerable people. Expanding such initiatives will help contribute toward having adequate housing. 
 Such participatory approaches help the government to acquire the land, plan for it, design, budget and construct low-cost housing for people. 

However, priority should be given to the most vulnerable people; just as civil society has built a reputation for doing. 
In the end, every household will have a comfortable roof over their heads. 

Lastly, the government should encourage partnerships and empower its partners with the necessary skills, standards and  planning required for housing and settlement.

Such initiatives will go a long way in spreading access to decent housing for all its vulnerable people. If we do this, we will close out a humanitarian problem that forms the basis for development.

 Simon J. Mone, Civil Engineer.