The government, through the National Building Society (NBS), has failed to deliver the houses it promised it would when the back was introduced back in 2016. NBS has only built 840 out of the 10,000 housing units promised.
In January 2017, NBS announced that it would roll out 10,000 housing units that year alone. Then, the housing backlog was reported to be at 1.2 million.
A report in the state-run Sunday Mail today says only 840 units have been built, leaving 9,125 as “planned projects”. The same report says the housing backlog is now at 1.3 million.
Said the report:
Last year, NBS added 1,790 housing units to the national housing stock, of which 526 were completed units and 1,264 units were at various stages of construction.
..Despite efforts from the NBS and other players in the housing deliery system, current headwinds on the market are making it increasingly difficult to clear the housing backlog.
Reports indicate that Zimbabwe needs an estimated 15 to 20 years to clear its national housing backlog, which has been ballooning in recent years as a result of increased rural to urban migration and high cost of construction.
The national housing backlog is currently estimated at 1,3 million, with Harare alone requiring about half a million housing units.
NBS is owned by the State-run National Social Security Authority (NSSA). During the run-up to the presidential election, President Mnangagwa and his party Zanu-PF promised to build 1.5 million houses within 5 years.
More: Sunday Mail