Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
LOCAL financial institutions are seeking a minimum of US$14 million in lines of credit from Shelter Afrique — a pan-African finance organisation — for housing development.
Among some of the institutions seeking loans from the 45-member organisation headquartered in Kenya, is the Urban Development Corporation (UDCORP) and the National Building Society (NBS).
Daniel Garwe, the National Housing and Social Amenities minister
According to Housing minister Daniel Garwe, financing for the two institutions and other unspecified private sector entities should be in place by the beginning of July next year, in time for Shelter Afrique’s annual general meeting (AGM) to be held in Victoria Falls.
“BancABC has already received US$11 million and we are grateful for that. UDCORP, a parastatal under the ministry of Housing and Social Amenities, has applied for US$10 million. NBS has applied for US$4 million. Other local banks have also applied for finance but there are a few issues that need to be cleaned up. For UDCORP, there is the issue of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the bills of quantities, because this is project specific funding,” Garwe told the media after a meeting with Shelter Afrique chief executive Andrew Chimpondah.
Shelter Afrique exclusively supports the development of the housing and real estate sector across the continent. Its shareholders include member countries categorised as ‘Class A’ shareholders, plus the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa-Re), categorised as ‘Class B’ shareholders.
“NBS needs to raise its capitalisation levels. The threshold is US$20 million. They (NBS) are now at US$16 million and they have said by the end of the year or within the first quarter of 2022, they will have reached the required capitalisation level.
“We are hoping that all our financial institutions that have applied for funding from Shelter Afrique will get that funding before the AGM next year, because this is something we would want to proudly report on,” Garwe said.
He further said that the government would ramp up the role of the private sector in providing housing in the country.
“One of the key functions of the (Housing) ministry is to harness private sector funding into housing. So private sector participation is key in the housing delivery agenda.
“It’s a private sector driven ministry and we are looking at pension funds, insurance companies, building societies, commercial banks and even members of the corporate community. Government’s key responsibility is to provide oversight and land that is affordable because we want the final product to be affordable,” he said.
Zimbabwe is also eyeing housing bonds that are being floated by the financial institution in different regions of the continent. The country is the current first vice president of Shelter Afrique’s annual general assembly and will take over the reins at the Victoria Falls summit next year, with Garwe assuming the post of president.
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