Ethiopia: the diplomatic capital of Africa strives to provide a roof to its residents

By Tsegay Hagos

Nowadays, the Ethiopian population has exceeded 100 million inhabitants. This number makes the nation the second most populous country in Africa. Most people live in rural areas and live from agriculture. However, people who live in urban centers are growing from time to time. Due to overpopulation in urban areas, many problems have put the lives of urban dwellers.

Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, seat of the African Union and headquarters of other continental and international organizations, faces a shortage of housing. According to the 2016 report of the Administration of the city of Addis Ababa, the population of the city has reached 4 million inhabitants. As it accounts for 60% of the nation's GDP, many people from various parts of the country throw it in for education, employment and other reasons. As a result, the perennial city is facing a severe housing shortage that affects the livelihoods of mostly low-income residents. As a result, millions of citizens have become victims of inflated rents and related problems.

Abject poverty and the housing problem are interdependent and that is what happens in the capital Addis Ababa, according to Mekonen Wube, urban planner in Addis Ababa Housing Project. He told the Ethiopian Herald that unemployment, income disparity and poverty are the main factors that aggravate the housing shortage in the capital. "About 70% of the population of Addis Ababa lives in very poor slums without sanitation and hygiene." More than 30 percent of the houses are single rooms and 15 percent of them do not. There are no private or shared toilets. "In addition, the Kebele homes that were distributed to the poor are not well furnished and can not be inhabited by larger families, adding," If we understand that poverty and housing problem are closely linked, poverty reduction will be a solution, and the government has made efforts to reduce poverty in order to increase the purchasing power of the people. , the government is building condominiums for low-income companies. "

The city administration of Addis Ababa proposed a plan to build condominium homes in 2005 to mitigate the ortage being noticed in the city.Since then, 180,000 homes have been transferred However, as the population is growing at an alarming rate, the houses that have been built so far have not satisfied people's demand.Many people were desperate for the house.

On the other hand, the government persisted in registering residents for condos aimed at developing the people's savings culture.Therefore, the government registered 900,000 people in 2015 in 10/90 packages, 20/80 and 40/60, but the plan is not going well, the 10/90 package was designed for the low-income society, 20/80 for government employees and 40/60 high-income the diaspora.

How are the According to him, the sites Akaki Kality, Bole Arabsa and Bole Ayat are doing well despite the challenges. The Akaki Kality condominium project that is running on the Koye Feche site covers 960 hectares of land. Generally, 50,110 homes will be built in 20/80. The construction has reached more than 80% completions. On the other hand, the sites of Bole Arabsa and Bole Ayat respectively reached 93 and 82%.

However, shortages of foreign exchange, the inability of entrepreneurs, lack of follow-up and mismanagement forced construction to stop. "The shortage of foreign exchange has hampered the construction sector, especially the construction of condominiums, the government has not been able to complete the housing already started in Addis Ababa and as a result hundreds of thousands of residents have been frustrated ". Another reason for the inefficiency of building more houses is the inability of the contractor to finish on time and the mismanagement of the allocated budget. He reaffirmed that corruption and mismanagement of resources have put an end to many condominium projects and that the government should put in place accountability mechanisms to combat these malpractices.

"Corruption and waste of He stressed that these practices should be corrected and that legal frameworks should be designed to put an end to them. "

In the meantime, the government is determined to to make Ethiopians urban dwellers, and strives to provide affordable housing for its citizens.As part of its commitment, it has planned to build more than 750,000 additional condominium units in the second Growth and Transformation (GTP-II) .But the plan is unlikely to be materialized because of the aforementioned factors.In solving the challenges, Addis would provide modern homes equipped with modern facilities for its residents. Thus, it will be a dynamic, adapted and affordable city in Africa.