KAMPALA- NBS Television in partnership with Housing Finance Bank has today Tuesday, July 2 launched the inaugural Housing Baraza that will take place on July 25, 2019, at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
The baraza has been themed “Housing for Wealth Generation -Improving Household Wealth through Uganda’s Real Estate.”
The Housing Baraza is aimed at assessing the impact of Uganda’s Real Estate tax regime across the value chain from acquiring land to using completed developments as a tenant or homeowner.
It is also intent on exploring various local and international housing, construction and financial innovations that can contribute to reducing the cost of providing affordable housing and mortgage finance among other objectives.
According to the Chief Strategy Officer of Next Media Services, Mr. Joe Kigozi, the Housing Baraza is a very opportune moment to give housing players in the market an opportunity to show Ugandans how to amass wealth from the housing sector.
“Being more than a television station is a major key role in impacting the life of Ugandans. We want to create a platform where every Ugandan can have the chance to access accurate information regarding the housing sector,” Joe said while addressing journalists.
He added that through Next Media’s vision they thought it important to address a challenge in Uganda.
“We have been a little bit behind in terms of the way we approach the idea of housing… Through investment group and investment schemes, people can be able to boost their finances and play a role in the real estate sector,” he remarked.
Mr. Dave Khayangayanga the Housing Specialist at Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development said that the housing sector is one of the most critical subsections of the economy and that housing is at the centre of the social-economic development of any country.
“If you want to measure how developed a country is, first look at the nature of the houses. Each one of us in one way or another lives in a house but more importantly, you’re either renting or owning one,” he said.
Mr. Khayangayanga added that housing carries a status symbol, it is a sign of responsibility, maturity and when you own one you definitely feel proud.
“Investment in housing has a lot of potentials to spur an economy. When you talk of housing, let us not limit ourselves to just a house, let us look at the various industries that feed into the house, it’s quite capital intensive.”Mr. Khayangayanga noted.
He further stated that the government is ready to learn from the real housing practitioners as well come up with innovative solutions to address the challenges in the housing sector.
According to Ms. Elizabeth Kabugo the Manager Mortgage at Housing Finance bank, housing has a lot of sectors it can touch adding that housing and shelter go well beyond a basic human need and are a source of wealth generation.
“Wealth generation is critical for us. We must have a conversation on how to help our fellow Ugandans build affordable houses. We need to raise awareness in terms of housing; we need to start talking about lasting initiatives in housing,” she said.
Ms. Kabugo added that the National Development Plan 2015 to 2020 estimates that Uganda will need at least 12.6 million new housing units within the next thirty years to keep up with its population growth hence need to educate people about the housing sector.
Mr. Sam Apedel, the Senior Manager Public Relations at National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) projected that by 2021, the entity shall have enough water to supply the entire Kampala metropolitan area up to the year 2040.
