Kenya’s Pledge on Cheap Housing, Signs Yaounde Declaration

Kenya is among the 25 countries that signed the Yaoundé Declaration on enhancing mechanisms for the mass production of decent and affordable housing.

The 7-point document is centred on addressing issues of leadership and governance, policies and legislation, coordination, land systems, finance, taxation, capacity building and the adoption of new building technologies.

The ‘Yaoundé Declaration’ was issued at the 40th Annual General Assembly of Shelter Afrique held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 21 to 24 June 2021. 

Other member countries in attendance who passed the resolution adopting the declaration include Algeria, Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

“Effective policy and legislation are critical in addressing all these challenges as this will tackle issues around quality control in the delivery of decent and affordable housing, provision of housing to the vulnerable groups, the land tenure system, adoption of construction technologies, and even financing, ” Shelter Afrique Group Managing Director and CEO Andrew Chimphondah said in an emailed statement.

That is why we settled on Four Decades of Housing Policies in Africa as the theme for our 40th Annual General Assembly as we look forward to the next 40 years of affordable housing.” 

To ensure the implementation of the resolutions contained in the declaration, the delegates appointed a six-member team headed by Shelter Afrique Head of Legal Services Ms Houda Boudlali and UN-Habitat Regional Advisor Dr Claude Albert Meutchehe Ngomsi as facilitators.

According to Shelter Afrique’s Centre of Excellence (CoE)  to the overall shortage of housing in Africa is estimated at 56 million housing units.  Out of this, more than 90 per cent are in the affordable housing bracket.