Judith Nabakooba – Lands Minister of Uganda Divulged Uganda Encountering Eight Million Housing Deficit

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

Judith Nabakooba – Lands Minister of Uganda. Photo: Twitter

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone – The Minister was on past Saturday speaking at a function to launch the Olive Homes apartments constructed by Buildnet in Naalya. In 2020, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics(UBOS) settle the deficit of reasonable housing units in Uganda at 2.1 million, with over 900,000 housing units in the country below standard. This deficit in terms of quality and quantity is in both rural and urban areas of the country.

Nabakooba said the problem of the housing deficit has been heightened by the high costs of having decent houses which she remarked has left out, particularly low-end Ugandans from getting decent homes.

Nabakooba nonetheless asserted, real estate developers should unearth an antidote to this in a bid to assure even low-income earners have decent houses.

“I can see that through the type of apartments and houses, you are targeting a certain high end type of customers. This is also a good business model, however, I want to encourage you to look out for solutions towards the housing needs of low income earners as well,” Nabakooba remarked.

“We must work together to ensure that we extend opportunities to all Ugandans regardless of their incomes to be able to have a place they can call a home. Everyone wants to have a good and affordable house; everyone wants to live in a well-planned and safe environment.”

She furthered, if possible government will be ready to work with the private sector to plan for low cost but decent housing units for low income earners.

“Low income earners can be planned to be housed in other places, not necessarily Naalya but are decent. Working together with private investors like Buildnet, I am sure that we can be able to solve the challenge of housing shortages. This is part of sustainable housing and urbanization that we want to drive.”

“Government may not necessarily be with funds to pull it off but we can tap into investors for example we can provide land and investor builds decent housing units that are way cheaper than the current ones. That way we will solve the problem of the housing deficit which keeps growing.”

The minister said government is doing its best to ensure the real estate industry thrives in the country.

“Government has already put in place all the relevant policy and legal frameworks including the National Land use Policy, 2009, National Land Policy, 2013, National Housing Policy, 2018; and the National Urban Policy, 2016. All these policies and laws provide a conducive environment for the industry.”

“Government is also working hard to ensure that other vital sectors that support the real estate industry such as roads, security, access to water and power are all taken care off.”

The Buildnet Chief Executive Officer – Ibrahim Ssemaganda told, the company has subsidized in building affordable houses for Ugandans but underscoring quality.

“Quality is what drives our construction operations. AFromfoundation, structure, and finishes are all rotating around quality. We pay attention to detail to see our structures last for decades. We strive to innovate ways to ensure we produce these houses within affordable prices,”Ssemaganda said.

Stating about the 24 housing units in Naalya, the Buildnet CEO annunced, seventeen of them are bedroomed whereas the remaining seven have two bedrooms each.

“They have all luxury finishes as we provide quality and long-term value for customers than simply enticing them with lower prices.”

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent