Angola: Government Considers Housing Policy Important to Development

Angola Press Agency (Luanda), 27 November 2008

Angolan minister of Urbanisation and Housing, Diankumpuna Sita José, Thursday in Luanda considered the Government's housing policy as an important component for the country's social and economic development.

The minister was addressing the opening of the forum on "Path for Angola's Development" being attended by professionals of the sector.

With this policy, the Government is seeking to create great opportunities for the establishment of mutually advantageous partnerships between the public operators and the private sector concerned.

The minister added that partnership could be established at the level of funding and elaboration of cartographic and topographic bases and financing for studies of urbanising conceptions for the areas.

He said the partnerships could also be developed at the level of financing and joint execution of housing units at controlled costs, construction of communitarian urban equipments, drinking water supplying, pluvial drainage and electricity systems and others.

According to him, the most recent studies on the country's demographic evolution indicate the emergence, in the 2008/2012 period, of more than one million new families distributed in urban and rural areas which, he added, creates the need for new houses.

Sita José stated as well that based on global information provided by the electoral registration process, complementary inquiries are in progress, aimed at indicative data on the families levels of revenues in Angola.

About six million people are estimated to be living in Luanda which, the minister said, "means a concentration of about one third of the Angolan population, a non-recommendable trend."

All projects made until now, according to the minister, indicate that Luanda is on the list of the world's mega cities, with a population oscillating around 2.5 million to 15 million inhabitants, as a result of the demographic growth trend.

On the other hand, the official said that a careful observation of the occupation of the urban lands show that 80 percent of the urban population is established in compounds considered as precarious or informal settlements, a trend that will remain unaddressed, unless measures to reverse the situation are taken.

He stated that the Ministry of Urbanisation and Housing started this year the implementation and structuring of the Integrate Programme on Constitution and Urbanisation of Municipal Land Reserves, with stress to the promotion of houses of social interest.

Sita José added that of the 100,000 hectares identified at the national level, only about 32,800 will cover the urban goals for the 2008/20012 period.

The minister also stated that with the fund of about Akz 60 billion allotted from the State Budget for 2009, for the housing promotion programme, arrangement of the territory and urbanisation, operations of urban lotting can be started to respond to the needs of about 390,000 inhabitants.

The forum comprising three panels is to discuss such topics as housing credit, financing of public/private partnerships, housing tax, housing foment law, challenges of housing promotion and re-qualification of the Luanda city and other matters.