Firm calls for tax relief on housing

[Invisible]

Shelter Afrique deputy managing director Ositadinma Okonkwo (left) while addressing the press. Looking on is Integrated Property Investments financial advisor Omar Ali. Photo/LIZ MUTHONI

A property investment firm has asked the government to offer private investors tax concessions and other incentives to encourage construction of houses. This, it said, will help ease the current shortage.

UK-based Integrated Property Investments said tax exemptions would bring down the cost of construction.

Managing director Suleiman Dualeh said governments should provide low-priced land to developers for the same purpose if they are to successfully house their citizens.

“What makes houses expensive is the price of land,” said Mr Dualeh. “If governments provide land at concession rates, it will bring down house prices.”

At the same time, Shelter Afrique, a regional housing finance and development institution, and the African Development Bank on Thursday signed an agreement to give Integrated Property Investments a $5 million loan (Sh398.5 million) for a housing project in Dar es Salaam.

The loan is to fund the first phase of Bahari Beach Satellite Town in the Tanzanian capital.

The aim of the project is to build a self-sustaining hub and reduce the need to travel to the city centre on routine basis.

The project’s concept is the construction of self-contained mixed-use development with first class housing, recreational and commercial amenities in one place.

“The complementarities of these services will reduce the need to commute to the city centre for daily routine requirements with all its associated traffic,” said Mr Dualeh after the signing ceremony at Shelter Afrique offices in Nairobi.

Integrated Property Investments envisions coming up with similar schemes in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.

Minister counsellor at Tanzania embassy in Nairobi Verdiana Mashingia urged Kenyans to invest in her country to benefit from her government’s reforms in housing.

She said Tanzania was in the process of making formal land and housing in unplanned areas. The aim of this programme is to officially recognise such property and finally create security of tenure.

Court procedures
Ms Mashingia said long court procedures in mortgage lending cases and red tape in the transfer of mortgage properties had been removed.

As a result, the bank and borrower will enter into a contract and if the borrower commits a breach, he or she will be given a notice of 60 days to pay, after which his property will be sold without involving the court.

Formerly, the procedure for transfer of mortgaged property was long and cumbersome.

 

[Lole Gwakisa]

The idea of building houses in the form of estate housing schemes is a brilliant one as seen in the paper above.The price of land ,however, is only one aspect that affects the price of the finished product, the house.

The price of building materials , most of which are fake in India St, is another factor.The fakes are equally expensive as compared to the geunine materials/fittings.

The Govt seems to have awoken from its long slumber in providing surveyed plots.However provision of services eg water, power , phone, security is something else.These have a long lasting effect on the price of property in Dar es salaam.

Go to Bunju,Mji Mwema or Mbweni.Apart from the murram roads the other services are to be provided at the cost of the land purchases/developer. This is what makes investing into a housing venture very expensive.

It goes without doubt that the Govt can cheaply provide all the services in a surveyed area at a rate that will be cheaper than can be done individualy.

If this scenario will be adopted then we can say at least we are on the way to having sattelite towns.

 

[Exaud J. Makyao]

The call is good, but there must be a properly set policy.

 

[Lole Gwakisa]

The call is good, but there must be a properly set policy.

This is another big problem.
The cost of borrowing from our banks ia a do or die affair, and that is apart from bein tedious and cumbersome to achieve the end result.