By Brenda Kayo:
The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Tuesday launched a five-year strategic plan requiring K8.135 trillion, with K7.64 trillion earmarked for housing construction.
The housing allocation represents 93.9 percent of the total budget.
The ministry plans to construct 135,000 affordable housing units across the country by 2031 through the Malawi Housing Corporation, with funding from the government and development partners, including the World Bank.
The government is also reportedly in talks with private estate agencies to support the programme.
“The effective implementation of the strategic plan will require adequate and predictable financial resources, as well as sufficient human, technological and institutional capacity,” Minister of Lands Chimwemwe Chipungu said.
The plan allocates K249 billion to estates management, K108 billion to the Digital Land Information System and K47 billion to land governance.
Surveying will receive K27 billion, urban development K25 billion and physical planning K17 billion. Other allocations include K11 billion for institutional development, K6 billion for valuation and K4 billion for quality assurance.
The ministry also aims to digitise all land transactions by 2031, establish a customary estate register and issue 63,300 sectional titles during the implementation period.
In physical planning, the government targets 28 district councils implementing approved physical development plans by 2031.
The plan also seeks to reduce the vacancy rate in government housing from 46 percent to 10 percent by the end of the period.
However, implementation will depend on available resources, with expenditure guided by the government’s fiscal space and approved budgets.
Meanwhile, Eris Properties Chief Executive Officer Washington Chimuzu said the government could work with the private sector to achieve the affordable housing target.
“There is room for the private sector and government to work together to achieve the goal,” Chimuzu said.