US$ 11m has been set aside towards real estate investment by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) in Uganda; this initiative comes after the recent downturn in the property market.
Speaking during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Housing Finance Bank and Mirembe Villas, a real estate developer, Richard Byarugaba, the managing director NSSF, said there was need for all players along the value chain to get together and bridge the huge gap between demand and supply.
“The biggest problem has been lack of financing. Some of our members can’t buy property. We believe that one of the advantages of involving us is because we can provide that liquidity,” said Byarugaba.
According to Parity Twinomujuni, the chief executive officer of National Housing and Construction Company (NHCC], unless the stakeholders such as government, municipalities, utility service providers and banks, partner then the costs of housing will keep on going up. The partnership will hence enable customers have affordable and decent housing.
She further said that NHCC will launch the biggest affordable housing estate in the country comprising of 5,000 units at Bukere (Jubilee city) later this year.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is a semi-government agency responsible for the collection, safekeeping, responsible investment and distribution of retirement funds from employees of the private sector in Uganda, who are not covered by the Government Retirement Scheme. Participation for both employers and employees is compulsory.
