Tanzania is backing up efforts to advance housing for civil servants such as teachers following the disbursement of US $19.7 million to Watumishi Housing Company (WHC).
An overall of 800 housing units were built in the first phase in five projects undertaken in Dar es Salaam, Lindi, Mtwara, Morogoro, and Simiyu while other projects were implemented in and Tanga, Mwanza region.
“The government aims to move from a middle income nation,” says Watumishi Housing Company (WHC), Chief Executive Officer, Dr Fred Msemwa.
Msemwa said in nearly all middle income nations, folks are not caught up in the construction of houses and buying land, instead all the dealings are done by acknowledged firms and the process is carried out professionally.
He said that the professionals companies recognized survey plots and builds decent houses to make way for selling to people while the government keeps its taxes according to the law of the land.
“The feedback from the civil servants is very high but the biggest challenge is the interest rates from the social basket funds that funds the civil servants built houses across the nation, adding that they chose to come with other methods to put up cheap houses to common public workers such as nurses, teachers,” noted Dr. Msemwa
The CEO further said that Watumishi Housing Company (WHC) has also decided to open doors for civic employees to pay their houses in installments from time to time until he or she finishes paying the whole loan.
Civil servants desiring to attain houses built by the company have four preferences which include paying cash, mortgage financing from banks, down payment and hire purchase which is presently applicable for the Morogoro project only.
Watumishi Housing Company (WHC) is a public body founded in 2013. WHC is a property developer and a licensed fund manager for management of the WHC Real Estate.
Investment Trust (WHC-REIT). WHC-REIT was certified by the Capital Market and Security Authority (CMSA) in 2015 and became the first fully-fledged REIT to be launched in Tanzania and East Africa.
As a property developer, WHC-REIT is the chief executor of the Tanzania Public Servant Housing Scheme commissioned with building of 50,000 housing units in five phases.
WHC-REIT aims to work with other national and international fund administrators and other stakeholders to expand this market in a way that is favorable to all parties.
Housing problem in Africa continues to be a major issue in the wake of a bursting population.
