press releases

A Private-Public Partnership Makes Home Ownership Affordable

Minister of Lands, Gladys Nyirongo, and the United States Ambassador to Zambia, Carmen Martinez, on Wednesday, March 22 signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will pave the way toward a more efficient and effective transfer and registration of land titles to homebuyers under the Lilayi Housing Project. The Memorandum of Understanding outlines the respective roles of the Ministry of Lands and the developers of the Lilayi Housing Project. The purpose of the agreement is to facilitate the timely and transparent issuance of land title certificates for over 5,000 houses to be built on the Lilayi site. It also defines the support to the public-private partnership that will be provided by the United States Government.

The U.S. Government’s role in support of the far-reaching pilot project includes: $46,300,000 in mortgage financing from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; expert technical assistance; a partial loan guarantee for the start-up construction costs; and the equipment required to ensure secure and timely electronic transfer of information between the one-stop-shop and the Ministry of Lands.

At the one-stop-shop, next to Farmers House on Cairo Road, prospective homebuyers will be able to secure title deeds from the Ministry of Lands; access mortgage financing from Stanbic Bank; and purchase their property and homes from the developers of the Lilayi Project. At that site, the Ministry of Lands has agreed to facilitate an enabling environment, which fosters interaction and coordination with homebuyers, Stanbic Bank, and the developers. To facilitate the efficient and effective transfer and registration of land titles to homebuyers, the Ministry of Lands will establish procedures and guidelines with the private sector partners that are required to issue approximately 140 completed property deeds and registrations each month. The Ministry has also agreed to ensure transparency and accountability for funds generated by the Ministry from the Lilayi property deeds and titles.

Zambia has an opportunity to develop a model for the long-term financing of affordable housing for an increasing number of Zambian families with the full cooperation of all private and public partners in this exciting housing effort. A successful demonstration, using the Lilayi project as the test case or pilot, could be applied throughout Zambia and could serve as a model for best practices in mortgage financing and increased home ownership throughout Africa.
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