Zambia in 1.5 million housing deficit
By MAILESI BANDA ZAMBIA has an estimated housing deficit of about 1.5 million houses countrywide and among the major obstacles in meeting the demand is limited acess to affordable mortgage financing for majority Zambians, National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA), chairperson Marian Munyinda has said.
Ms. Munyinda said most mortgage facilities in Zambia are highly priced and above the reach of average Zambians.
She was speaking during the signing ceremony of the memorandum of agreement between NAPSA and ZNBS that will see the latter sell about 311 three bedrooms houses owned by the former on mortgage, in Lusaka on Tuesday.
Ms. Munyinda said the partnership between NAPSA and ZNBS was important as it would address one of the challenges hampering access to decent and affordable housing in Zambia.
"The authority has a total of 311 three bedrooms self-contained houses that are on sale at a cost of K 575,000 per unit.
The public can buy any of the units either through a flexible payment plan or mortgage facility that has been arranged by ZNBS with an affordable interest rates of 14 percent per annum for a maximum of 30 years," she said.
She noted that the offer was by far the most competitive intrest rate for a mortgage on the Zambian market adding that the partnership was a huge step towards making housing financing affordable and accessible to many Zambians.
And the Zambia National Building Society Board chairman David Nama said the partnership demonstrated the commitment of public institutions to delivering affordable housing and housing finance to Zambians.
He explained that the partnership supported ZNBS's mission of providing quality and sustainable mortgage finance, financial services and other allied services for the benefit of clients.