BUJUMBURA June 15th (ABP) – At least 5 million of the Burundian population will be living in cities in 16 years, said the Minister of Infrastructure, Equipment and Social Housing, Mr. Dieudonné Dukundane, during press briefing he hosted on Tuesday June 13, 2023 on the new social housing policy.
According to Minister Dukundane, the new social housing policy falls within the vision of Burundi emerging in 2040 and developed in 2060. He indicated that the ministry has set itself the objective of achieving an urbanization rate of at least 40% with a current population of 12 million, where less than 15% of the population live in urban areas, he said.
This situation makes it difficult for residents to access vital services such as water, electricity and the internet; social, economic services and associated infrastructure known as characteristics of emerging economies, Mr. Dukundane explained.
According to him, about three million three hundred thousand (3,300,000) Burundians must migrate to towns and villages. He also pointed out that this program is a big project requiring the construction of at least 530,000 new homes by 2040, while specifying that each year, the ministry will have to build at least 33,000 new homes.
The minister responsible for infrastructure also pointed out that the social housing policy dates back a long time. The Government had granted plots within the Shatanya neighborhood in Gitega province, in Ngagara and South Mutanga in Bujumbura City Council. However, the expected results were not achieved due to the lack of supervision and marking measures, while this program cannot succeed if the Government continues to offer individual plots, he said.
Regarding the goal set for the 2040 vision, Minister Dukundane indicated that the Government is aware of the problem related to the scarcity of land, access to financing and group cohabitation. To remove doubts about the success of that program, he said that the actors involved, that is to say, the State, the financing institutions, the construction companies as well as the service providers, will each have to know their rights, obligations and responsibilities.
Regarding the cost of houses, the minister in charge of social housing indicated that these will depend on two essential parameters, namely the monetary cost and the cost of acquiring construction equipment supplies.
It is worthy to note that this new social housing construction project will begin in the Kizingwe-Bihara and Socarti sites, respectively in the Muha and Ntahangwa communes.