Deserted sites, stalled projects define affordable housing scheme
Thursday October 07 2021
The Rugarama estate in the outskirts of Nyamirambo, where the subsidiary of Remote Group was contracted to put up over 2,000 low cost housing units. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA
Rwandans will have to wait longer to access affordable housing as several construction projects launched to increase access have either stalled or not started, a mini-survey by Rwanda Today shows.
The affordable housing programme targets low and medium income households with monthly income between Rwf 200,000 and Rwf 1,200,000.
Kigali city alone needs at least 70,000 new dwelling units by 2028, according to the Housing Market study done by the International Growth Centre, a London-based Think Tank in 2018.
While the relevant government institutions did not respond to our requests for information as to why the projects have been delayed or not started, contractors partly blame the pandemic.
Residents are concerned about the limited access to affordable housing. For instance, Cyprien Simpunga’s client is moving from upcountry to Kigali for a job.
But after days of searching, she could not get a house to rent near her children's school in Nyagatovu, Gasabo District, within her budget (Rwf100,000-Rwf150,000).
“Rwf100,000 would afford one a family house of two bedrooms here but prices soared to more than Rwf250,000 in just two years due to high demand. I have so many people I cannot find homes for…Many gave up and left to try places outside Kigali,” said Simpunga who is in volved in the real estate and residential brokering business.
A family of four whose head is a district staff recently returned to Kigali from Ruhango only to find rent in Gatenga, Kicukiro, have almost doubled to Rwf180,000 -Rwf200,000 for a three-bedroom house they paid Rwf100,000 in 2019.
“Someone with such an income to spend on rent could buy their own home, but it is not the case because the highest a bank can give you is Rwf7 million. That’s too little to afford a home in Kigali unless it is under a subsidised housing scheme,” the father of two told Rwanda Today on condition of anonymity.
Rwanda Today’s field visits at several sites earmarked for affordable housing development in Kigali found construction works had either not taken off or stalled.
For example, the five-hectare piece in Masaka area of Kicukiro earmarked for construction of over 278 low cost homes is deserted. It is no different at another site in Rugarama in the outskirts Nyamirambo. In total, 69ha meant for similar housing projects across Kigali lie idle. These include 26ha in Gasogi of Ndera Sector where 1,700 affordable housing units’ project was planned, and 18ha in Kinyinya, Gasabo, for construction of 2,000 affordable housing units.
The Auditor General's report show the sites, where the government incurred multi-million francs to pay for expropriation of land and offered to put up basic infrastructure, among other incentives, were allocated to investors who include Horizon and Rwanda Social Security Board RSSB).
RSSB’s 2020-2021 procurement plan shows it would hire a consulting firm but was not clear whether this was in preparation of kick starting construction works. No answers were received by press time.
Equally, Rwanda Housing Authority did not respond to questions about the affordable housing scheme.
Official statistics put an annual low cost house demand at 31, 279 dwelling units as at 2019, of which only 1000 units are supplied on an annual basis.
The housing regulator’s director general Felix Nshimyumuremyi told Rwanda Today he would review our questions and revert but never did.