Govt grapples with housing shortage

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Wednesday November 3, 2010 00:00

 

In his first ever Pitso specifically for Lands and Housing Minister Nonofo Molefhi challenged stakeholders to help come up with alternative ways of building less expensive houses for the poor and middle income earners, saying the most preferred building method, brick and mortar is too expensive.

The minister amongst others explained that the important philosophy behind the national policy on housing is the recognition that government cannot continue to be the sole provider of housing and therefore recognises the importance of forging partnerships with stakeholders.

Minister Molefhi told the Pitso that government is challenged with providing houses for the poor and middle-income earners who are often neglected by financial institutions because they do not qualify for the mortgages.

Molefhi says although the government is currently implementing the SHHA and turnkey housing programmes, challenges of funding and availability of land persist.

He said in the just ended financial year about P100 million was requested for some 1,564 beneficiaries, but only P55 million was disbursed for 916 turnkey projects due to budgetary constraints.

However the Integrated poverty alleviation and Housing Scheme, introduced to augment the SSHA and Turnkey programmes, gives opportunity to those members of the society who would not qualify for the SHHA and Turnkey housing projects to build their own houses from the proceeds of the projects funded by the government. This is the housing programme spearheaded by the President and also headed by motor magnate Satar Dada, businessman, Paul Paledi and Col. Duke Masilo at the Office of the President.

To date 12 projects are on commercial production across the country with 238 beneficiaries. The Minister says the programme has so far produced 100 housing units and additional 24 are at various stages of construction.

Molefhi says the Gaborone City Council also stopped maintaining a waiting list for the SSHA programme in 2006 due to unavailability of plots at a time when it had 21,000 applicants on its waiting list. Molefhi says even the Botswana Housing Corporation, whose waiting lists had ballooned to tens of thousands, no longer keeps a waiting list for both rental and sale due to high demand.

Meanwhile the Minister also explained that currently some 1594 plots in Tsholofelo Extension are being constructed, while another 997 plots are being constructed for various uses in Jwaneng.

In Lobatse some 1,837 plots are ready for allocation near Lobatse Airstrip and Plantation. In Francistown ongoing land servicing project is the Gerald estate, which is expected to avail 4,730 plots.

However Gaborone residents will be sad to learn that the Metsimotlhabe Block 4 land servicing project which was expected to yield 1,960 plots is now on hold due to budgetary constraints.

The Palapye Extension 11 or Dibokwe, expected to yield 3,300 plots has also been put on hold on account of financial constraints.

Molefhi added that in the just ended NDP 9, they had planned to provide 18,000 plots but only 4,500 were realised at the end of the plan period.