Former Housing Project Daudi Migereko.

Former Lands and Housing Minister, Hon. Daudi Migereko, says for Uganda to achieve better and quality housing units that are currently in a deficit, there is need for government to create a change in the mindset of the population.

He says this will enable sector players and citizens to embrace the new housing projects initiatives and encourage solving the housing problems in the country.

According to Migereko, a negative mind set on housing can be witnessed in the failed Kasokoso housing re-development where citizens and area leaders resisted the project which now sees the residents still in a non-planned environment which is miserable.

“This was supposed to be an opportunity to improve on the housing sector for the poor in Kampala.Now look at how they still reside in poor structures which can collapse at any time,” Migereko said.

Migereko, gave good examples of better housing policies in neighboring countries of Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya where he says citizens have embraced low cost housing projects supported by their governments and have seen more citizens acquire quality housing.

He says it’s  upon this that he urges financial institutions to provide better conditions to facilitate housing financing mechanisms that will help citizens develop better and quality houses.

However, the Managing Director, Housing Finance Bank, Mathias Katamba is of the view that housing developers have to bring down construction costs to meet the house hold levels for Ugandans to afford mortgages and then homes.