The National Housing Authority (NHA) has recommended a US$ 600 million urban renewal proposal to construct 12,500 housing units in Lusaka’s Misisi and Kuku townships by September to provide accommodation to 50,000 residents. It is a broader plan of addressing housing shortage in Lusaka.
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NHA acting chief executive officer Waicha Ndhlovu said her institution has come up with the idea of urban renewal projects which aims to put up slum dwellers in the well-planned lesser portion of the same land while releasing a larger percentage of prime land for mixed development.
Ms Ndhlovu said this when she spoke before the parliamentary committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chiefs’ Affairs chaired by Serenje Central member of Parliament (MP) Maxwell Kabanda.
Ms Ndhlovu said owing to the enormity and social impact of such a massive project, political will and sovereign undertaking are necessary for its victorious implementation.
She said NHA will pertain to the rent-to-own concept and will not dislocate residents of Misisi and Kuku townships.
“We want to put up four-storey flats which inhabitants will rent at K100 per month and after 10 years the flats become their own . But to do this, we require sovereign guarantee from the Government and political will. These citizens have settled in these regions because of closeness to town where they basically walk to sell their goods,” Ms Ndhlovu said.
Ms Ndhlovu said the rent will go towards buying of the flats.
“We want to construct another city within the city. It does not give us pleasure to see some uniformed staff and civil servants live in slums. And if the project is triumphant, it will tackle sustainable housing and climate change challenges,” she said.
She said every Zambian is entitled to civilized accommodation.
And Ms Ndhlovu said the formation of the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development will enhance the operations of NHA.
“We hope we can get projects from Government to put up houses and this will improve our financial base,” she said.
Housing problem in Africa continues to be a major problem despite government interventions to construct several houses.
