Access to housing: towards the launch of a national platform to fill the deficit

The government is continuing its efforts to resolve the housing problem, with the upcoming announcement of the launch of a dedicated national platform. This initiative, led by the Ministry of Urban Planning, aims to inform citizens about the housing programs available across the country’s main territories.

During the signing of a partnership agreement between Shelter Afrique Development Bank and the Ministry of Urban Planning, Balla Moussa Fofana, Minister of Urban Planning, Territorial Communities and Territorial Planning, underlined the importance of this project.

“Our objective is to control construction costs and make housing more accessible to Senegalese people, whether they are locally or abroad,” he said.

The minister recalled that Senegal produces 5,000 housing units annually, a figure well below the growing needs estimated at 20,000 new requests per year. This deficit, which dates back to 2013, has now reached around 300,000 homes, forcing a large part of the population to spend up to 54% of their income on rent, well beyond the international standard set at 30%.

To bridge this gap, the government aims to build 500,000 homes over a period of ten years. This program is part of the vision of the President of the Republic, who has placed access to housing at the heart of his endogenous development project.

The partnership signed with Shelter Afrique Development Bank focuses on two main axes: the mobilization of financing and technical assistance to develop the housing sector. Thierno Habib Hann, Managing Director of Shelter Afrique, welcomed this agreement, emphasizing the importance of a sustainable and strategic approach.

“We are committed to mobilizing long-term resources to have a real impact on our African countries,” he said, before welcoming the welcome and commitment of the Senegalese government to this project.

“Thanks to the future national platform, citizens will be able to access complete information on housing programs, thus promoting greater transparency and facilitating their access to suitable housing,” underlines the minister.

Rts.sn