Government intervention needed to develop the housing sector

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the construction industry. Property developers and home owners, now more than ever are curious about the latest housing trends that are also budget-friendly. This is what has made the Property Show one of the most popular programmes on TV.

And to continue playing the role of industry leader, the show will undergo a rebrand complete with founder Edwin Musiime stepping down to allow a younger team to take the show to new heights. The weekly show, tailored towards providing information on the real estate and housing sector premiered in 2011. Musiime says he noticed a vacuum of information in Uganda about the evolving real estate industry, modern architectural and interior designs, so he  was inspired to create a show that bridged the gap.

“I had been to the US and the UK and was amazed by quality of real estate there and I wanted to expose Ugandans to what I had seen. I realised that if Uganda was ever going to be considered as a fast growing economy, then something had to be done to develop the infrastructure,” Musiime says.

He credits the NTV management for understanding his vision and accepting a partnership. He is proud of the show’s achievements over the past 11 years such as contributing to the growth of investor confidence in Uganda’s real estate industry. 

“We have always related with the different investors about Uganda as prospect for investment. We also continue to have forward thinking conversations with investors, about the housing deficit in the country and have made it known to them that there is demand for quality housing,” he says.

The show has also influenced a mindset change of so many industry players.

“The show has contributed to re-shaping our architectural designs in the market. When you drive around Kampala you can clearly see a big shift. On many occasions, people walk up to me and thank me, saying that they have built their dream homes just by watching the Property Show. Some even tell me that their interior décor themes were based on what they had watched on the Property Show. It is stories like these that warm my heart,” Musiime shares.

The Property Show

According to Musiime, the rebranded Property Show led by Christabel Musiime, is going to be focused on sustainable development in housing starting June 5.

“So, as we rebrand the show, we have launched our ten-year sustainability plan for housing and real estate and we are now going to benchmark on supplying as much information and sensitisation to individuals, government and commercial property owners on sustainable housing,” Musiime says.

Sustainability in general is about meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of the future generations. The housing sector needs to rethink sustainable building solutions; less waste, more re-use, recycling and emphasis on better reliability providing greater consumer satisfaction. This should lead to the construction of more eco-friendly residential and commercial properties.

With the Uganda’s population growing every day, land area and natural resources getting scarce, sustainable housing is just be the solution we need. Through sustainable housing not only would we be able to develop affordable houses and thus contain the issue of housing deficit, but we can also build houses that are practical, durable, and long-lasting.

Challenges

Musiime, however, believes that for Uganda’s real estate sector to make the desired transition, it needs to overcome a number of challenges.

“One of the biggest challenges we are facing now is the inflated cost of construction materials. I recently encouraged two clients to put their projects on hold as a more prudent decision. A bag of cement which was between Shs29,000 and Shs30,000 is now between Shs42,000 and Shs43, 000. Aluminum, steel and paint prices have all sky rocketed. Government has not helped much, on this matter and continues to heavily tax construction materials and equipment,” he notes. 

To overcome the issue of housing deficit in Uganda, Musiime believes government needs to be more involved in matter.

“The government needs to increase its efforts in aiding the housing sector.  Whereas we are a private sector led economy, certain sectors require more government intervention,” says Musiime.”

Government intervention would go a long way in creating policies that enable the growth of the industry.   To regulate the relationship between landlords and tenants, to reform and consolidate the law relating to letting of premises, to provide for the responsibilities of landlords and tenants in respect to the letting of premises and related matters.

A number of stakeholders say the Act interferes with freedom of contract between parties and in many places owing to the loosely worded provisions. The Act also protects the tenants more than it protects the landlords, yet it should provide adequate protection of each party’s rights.

“When you look at Landlord and Tenants Bill of 2018 some clauses in the Bill are not favourable to investors or landlords. For instance, previously, the issue concerning paying rent in either dollars or shillings was decision between the property owner and client, but now according to the bill all payments are supposed to be made in Uganda shillings, so where does that put the investor who borrowed in dollars? There is also the property tax which is prohibitive to investors and property owners who end up putting the burden on the tenants,” Musiime says.  

He believes that the future for real estate and the housing sector in Uganda is promising, but only if government picks up strong interest in the housing sector, by including it among its top development priorities.

“The government needs to play an active role alongside the private sector in the growth of the housing sector. Policies in support of the industry are much needed and we would like to see the national budget have funding allocated to the sector as well especially in addressing the nation’s low cost and affordable housing needs. Other than that, we shall have the same housing predicaments in the future, the slums will get worse, home ownership numbers might remain low due to the rising costs of construction with investors focusing on only middle- and high-income earners,” he warns.

For the past several years, Uganda has enjoyed stability and peace which have attracted more investors in the sector. However, there is still need for vigorous regulation especially concerning physical planning of cities and communities in Uganda.

The 2010 Physical Planning Act provides for the establishment of a National Physical Planning Board; to provide for the composition, functions and procedure of the Board; to establish district and urban physical planning committees; to provide for the making and approval of physical development plans and for the applications for development permission; and for related matters. But its effectiveness remains to be seen.

Who is Musiime?

Edwin Musiime is a Ugandan media personality and entrepreneur.  He started out at UBC where he worked for 11 years as a TV host and then quit his job to venture into self-employment.  He is the CEO of Olim Group, a construction and real estate company.