In celebrating achievements of the past forty years, Shelter Afrique has renewed efforts towards resolving housing challenges across Africa.
Housing and Finance Ministers and representatives from forty four countries, members of Shelter Afrique have been brainstorming on changing the tides for affordable housing on the continent. The high point of the 40th Annual General Assembly of the Panafrican real estate finance institution, will be today with the drawing up of the “Yaounde Declaration”. This will be the institution’s blue print for actions geared towards achieving decent and affordable homes for the population of Africa as a whole and Cameroon in particular. Meanwhile a symposium organised in the side lines of the general assembly provided an exceptional platform for networking and exchanging of ideas and best practices on housing delivery. In the past, these exchanges have led to the adoption of impactful policies by various actors in the housing sector across member states.
The AGA which opened on June 21, 2021 in Yaounde under the distinguished patronage of President Paul Biya, was the occasion for PM Dion Ngute, Cameroon’s Head of Government to recall that Shelter Afrique has provided up to CFA 24billion to Cameroon. This money has been channelled to diverse projects, all hinged on developing housing schemes and bettering livelihoods. Dion Ngute nonetheless highlighted that housing crisis persist and thus urged that lasting and sustainable solutions be sought.
According to Andrew Chimphonda, Managing Director of Shelter Afrique, after having shaken off the shackles of colonialism, Africa unfortunately is still fighting another war – that of acquiring decent and cheap housing. The battles in this domain include bottlenecks in land titling, lack of financing from banks, unaffordable housing. To him, the tides can only change, if requisite attention is accorded to the problem. With the theme of this year’s AGA “Four decades of housing policies in Africa, mapping the next forty years” in mind, participants are intent on changing the story for the better in line with the 11th sustainable development goal, which is creating resilient cities. The challenge for Shelter Afrique is to offer innovative and competitive solutions to its member states and catalyse collaborative efforts that accelerate affordable housing delivery.
Meanwhile, as part of its corporate social responsibilities, Shelter Afrique offered a consignment of hygiene and sanitation tools to nine councils including the Bafoussam, Meyomessala, Afanloum, Kumbo and Djoum to name but these.
Claudette CHIN
