The pan-African finance institution for housing "Shelter Afrique" is currently working with Islamic banks in Tunisia to promote access to affordable housing through Islamic financing mechanisms (Ijara, Murabaha, etc.), its Managing Director, Thierno-Habib Hann, said on Wednesday. Speaking at a high-level conference on "Financing Affordable Housing for Low-Income Groups: Challenges and Policies", he added that "the use of Islamic finance tools will enable middle and low-income groups to access affordable housing." Shelter Afrique is in discussion with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing to see how it can support the housing sector in Tunisia,' he pointed out. He further said: 'What makes Tunisia different from other countries in the region is that 80% of its inhabitants own their homes, while only 20% rent. The latter generally belong to the middle and poor classes". For his part, the Chairman of the Board and Director General of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), Abdulrahman Bin Abdullah Al Hamidy, called on Arab governments to strengthen public-private partnerships as one of the solutions to guarantee affordable housing and to facilitate investment procedures in the housing sector. He stressed that achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of access to adequate housing for all requires the combined efforts of Arab governments and financial structures to implement effective housing policies, promote sustainable construction and find innovative solutions to develop affordable housing. He also said that Arab countries should put in place the necessary mechanisms and regulatory and institutional frameworks to deal with the various risks inherent in long-term housing finance and to protect the rights of all stakeholders. He spoke of the importance of developing real estate financing by establishing a set of instruments capable of protecting real estate ownership and guaranteeing the rights of the various parties involved. Al Hamidy pointed out that Arab countries are finding it difficult to mobilise the financial resources needed to guarantee access to decent and affordable housing and to meet the growing demand in this area, given that 70% of the population of these countries are young people. "Real estate lending rates in Arab countries remain low compared to developing countries, which represents a real opportunity for financial institutions to develop their business in this area," he said. For his part, Nejib Snoussi, Director General of Housing at the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, said that the ministry is currently working to solve the problem of access to housing loans for the middle and vulnerable classes and the high cost of these loans. He added that the ministry is also working to mobilise building land and control construction costs and project completion times, as well as revising the Town and Country Planning Code to adapt it to future challenges (climate change, flooding, etc.). Snoussi pointed out that 4,000 social housing units are ready for delivery and another 8,400 are under construction as part of the specific social housing programme, which aims to build 13,400 units. The high-level conference on "Financing affordable housing for low-income groups: challenges and policies" was organised in Tunis by the AMF and the Central Bank of Tunisia.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse