Housing in Africa: problems and policies

..

Distr.

LIMITED

E/CN.14!HOU/2 3 May 1963

Original: ENGLISH/

OOlCroMENl'S OFFiCE

ILK COpy

NO TO BE TAKEN OUT ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA

,

1

';~D ^NATIONS

. ONOMIC f!~~

AND _\~I

SOCIAL COUNCIL

HOUSING IN AFRICA: PROBLEMS AND POLICIES Note by the seoretariat

(ReVised and oompleted version of the note prepared for the Meeting of Experts on Housing Problems in Afrioa, Addis Ababa, 9-11 January 1963)

63-1216

•

ii

E/cN •

14/HOU/2

As i t is, howevbr, it constitutes a preliminary reView of the present housing situation in Africa and ac,ion so far taken in this field. A

uentative attempt is made to isolate the mai.n housL~; problems, their na.-mre and size and to suggest solutions.

The scope of the paper can 'oe ce sn from the '1'a111e of Contents; the

illustra tisre materia2. ',G di-avn _maL~·,.y fl'om ^0. represen ta ti ve sample of African countrieo whic':.l were v:l.si t"Gd b~r memuez-s of the oecretariat~

In eaoh section the app~oach adopted is to suggest, at the outset, certain considerations, m€asura~ and policies vhich seem apprcpriate to a particular 'aspect of ::01:si"tg in Africa and then to describe the actual si tuation.

The enormous magnitude of ':;he he using problem t!l Africa is brought cut in the cour-se of this pape r ,

::·t"

d:n<;>nsions aTC ouch tr.a;':; clearly no :'apid solution can be fo:-eso<'"" This make s all tha moz-o import'l.nt tho early, development of rational and ccmpz-ehen si ve hous tng policios. u;.'dcrs of priority have to be established. Avo.ilable resources h~7e to be asea as efficiently as possible. IntenSive thought, study and research have to be devoted'to ensuring that housing programmes; feasible within available

reBo-urces, ·are developed on 'the basis of posi ii ve human , eo oLa.L andecor.ordc objective s ,

•

E/CN.14/HOU/2

INTRoroCTION

• ,At its fifth session (Leopoldville, February-March 1963), the _E~onomio Commission for Afrioa ""pproved the recommendations of the Meeting of Experts on Housing Problems in Africa, inCluding the setting, up of a committee on ,housing and physical planning, the terms of reference recommended ~o~it an,d

the proposals for both a. 10Hb-term and a shor""-'~erm programme of work".

(See report of tho fifth session

(E/CN.14!229)j

para 259».·11 . The Meeting of Experts mentioned above had been convened by the

Executiva SecretaI'Y. at the I'€'luest of tho Commission at i tEl fourth sessionI i t was aimed at providing an cppo.rtunft? for dt scueat.on on the presen"i;

housing situation, defining the magnitu&e of problems raised and the conditions required for their SOlution, and suggest:.ng general measures to be taken at the national level to facilitate tho fom.p-lation and executdon of housing polioies.

This Meeting was held in Addis Aba"::la, Ethiopia, from 9-17 January ,1963 (its report .is the first docjlmen t in the E/CN • 14/ITOU series). During the meeting, the hope ,was expressed that the secretariat would issue a reV"l~ed

and completed version of its note Hou:sintLin Africa, Problems alld Policie~

(E/CN.14/ITOUPA/3) •

This revised version constitutes the present docuruent.

Also at the experts' request, the secretariat deoided to reissue the notes prepared for the meeting by oertain speoialized agenoies. These are published in a separate dooument (E/CN.14/HOU/3).

Al·though it was reviewed and con:pleted in the 11ght of the information proVided by the experts and of ao,di tionaJ. information communioa ted to the secretariat in the meantime, this note - prepared in the first instanoe to be used as a basic do oument for the meeting - is still a working paper oalling for critios, amendments and additions. The seoretariat wishes to express its grati tude in advance to 'cho se ,,'ho will help in imprcVing it.

11

These recommendations are inoluded in ~he Re,ort of the /lIeeting of Experts on HOUSing Problems in Africa (E/CN.14/191-E CN.14]EfOU!1) and in the

Report of the Fifth Sessi~n (E/CN" :4/229).

,

I.

HOUSING NEEm1J'

E/cN •

14!ROUj2

• 1. The starting point in the development of a national housing pOlioy and programme is to establish the nature and extent of housing and related needs.

Until the over-all faots in regard to the housing situation are known, only guesses on an ad hoo year-to-year basis can be made and the resul t is la.ok of a ooherent and oontinuing programme well adapted to actual housing requirements. On the other hand, a olear knowledge of the situation resulting in anllccurateevaluation of requirements makes it possible to formulate long-term polioies and programmes a it also emphasises the need to mobilize more material, finanoial, teohnioal and human resouroes to attain

-an

adequate volume of oonstruotiona it thus ma.kesit possible to assess the share of investment to be allooated to housing and, finally, to integrate housing policies and programmes into the national eoonomio and sooial

developmen t planning. This is of Vi tal importanoe in View of the key role played 'by the building industry in the national economy on the one hand, and by housing in the improvement of the standard of liVing, on the other._

2.

Speoial importanoe attaohes to a oomprehensive asoertainment of housing and related requirements where, as appears to be the oase in Africa, it is expeoted that external finanoial assistanoe for housing and related Programmes will be sought. Finanoial oommitments of this kind oan be -prudently under-- taken on both sides only where the possible extent and 11mi t of housing needs are known.

3. The undertaking of surveys such as are reoommended here should not, however, result in current building aotiVity being halted pending their exeoution and analysis. Existing housing programmes should oontinue but, concurrently, the work of asoertaining over-all needs should be put in hand.

11

The development in this seotion is essentially based on the Report of the Sem ar on Hous n Surve s and Pro ammes with Part oular Refere oe to - Problems in Developing Countries ST CE

au

5 some oonolusions of 1lb.1oh are inoluded :l.n annex II of the present document) and the Report of the ad hoo Group of Experts on Housing and Urban Development (E!CN.5f367).

E/CN.14!HOU/2 Page 2

4.

Both the hcusIng stock and housing :requil'ements can be measured by normati ve standards. '!bese standards depend. on the prevailing housing sj,~at:l.on and the social content of housing policy. When the housingoook- :log is oonsidera.ble; as is' 'bho oa.sei\'l praotio(J,lly all' Afrioa.n oountries, . the

emphaE?is~U

he.laicir'dn th'ei qua11tftat;1ve aspect; as 'oonditions im;rove, the need for a .beUerinsighiiintc· the qu'ali tative aupect

Will

grow.

5.

COliJpari~OIi betlTeenthe ~eae~ed ^{stook arid} re<).~rementf;l refl~^{t,s in an}

• ' . ,,' ",: " " . ' " I

"objective" housing shortage. Effeotive housing tl.emancls, .Oil the. other, hand, refer to requi:!'em€n'~sappee.ring on"ll€> market, whioh are determined by a nUmber of

faoto~~

^{such as}

i~o~m~,

^p;ice

19V~l,

oonsumers' preferenoes, eto.

OWing to the diff:to\u ty Lnhez-ont .

i~ ctetermil,i~g

effeotive demand, most ooun- tries use objeotive requirements for dralQng.up their housiLg programmes, especially when 'housing polioy 15 givon G. socia.l content.

6.

It is not intended here to go ·into the detail of the basic information ne~cied for drawing up a housing c.Q~st:'Uotionprog::'Sllt1le1<.·I especially as the main problems raise.d .are methodoj.ogical ol,'l')s, but. merely to recall the nature of the requisite' statistical ibto.. Bac,ie s'bati.stios are among the things ..

that Afrieancoun~r:tes^{need mest} urgent~v if their development is to be bassd on more than a very brcad aseosc:lcnt of general. trend.s. .13 far as housing is

r

conoerned, _'th~se andll.uali til.tiv<lF

data concern th", existinG houfJir,g sl1ortage, both q1.L,:mt::.ta~~V9 and fu~li'~:::'e 2"equirement6~..

;j

deta:iled

oa~e

^stud:1G6.

5frioe

_o~ly a part will be concerned

7.

Rousing oensuce s az-e the moot s"li ta.ble basiEl for appraising tlie situation;

however they requiro a con~idorabl~ ~dmini~tra.ti,~a.ppara.·~El and mUch time.for

,-':",..~':"

prepaJ'tngS-nd proc"lssing the J:'csults. Sample surv~y~.aro therefore !!refe:r;.'a'ble, espeo:l:a.lly i f they can be o6inpi e t e d. by ^da

-ell. d~ri

ve d from lceal survey '/!<llcl

I ",:'~'

Moreover, the main ,survey task will be_{, t"J' .. - .} in=~n,~lI.s.

of the population lives ill urban areas and amce 'the studies primariJ.;; 1:1 th only a proportion of the urban popUlation;"

de,tll-il~;<i.surveys of urban housilliB' can be qUickly aecompliElhcd.U'heelecouldbe

ri:.._.~J For ,this see ..:Rei#O:i~·

pi,

the a.d hoc groun of Experts on REusing and Urban Ilevelopment,.();(l,.• ci t."para. 184 Sq. See alGo £!!w:.!!.:ral Prinoiples f5ft'....!.

Rousing Census;' Statistical S'tudies, Series !.l, No 23, United Nations, (~iC~~~/2i~5~' and !,ropo<e~h.ods Of·3·:·'i"",·:'.~gRCtls"nil; Heeds

E/cN•

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oarriedout by toWn and oit:Y oouncf Le in aooordanoe with a common .model determined' oerttrallj .Limited rural sa.mple surveys

wiU

serve to, oonstruot an'aootirateplotura o!the 'situation.

S.

'One o! the essentiai characteristios

ot

the pr&sent'hciusing situation is the diinsity of oooupation; whioh can be shown by various illd16ators'suoh as the number o! dwellings per thousand inhabitants, the average number of

. - ^,

persons per dwelling or the averag~'numberof pereons per room~

9.

House-building progra.mmes, in their simplest !orm" ooncern housing requirements expressed in tarmso! null1ber o! dwellings to be bu1l t. 'The-

" ,

most important !eatures o! a description o! the present housing situation are,

there!or~,

the present quantitative shortage and the present qualitative shortage (replacement ne~ds).

10. The quantitative housing shortage may be measured in a normative way by oomparfngthe null1b~r o! dwellings available and the number o! dwelling - requiring units. The latter re!ers to the "private' household", whose

de!inition raises'particular di!!10hltiBs in a majority o! Afrioan oountries aI1d to which origin~i sooialresearoh should be deVoted.

11. The qual! tative shortage, and its measure in terms o! replaoement needs, oan be assessed bi:~eohnioal and bUilding oriteria."

The

'fOrmer relates to the state of habi tab1lity'( siZe of rooms, their position, equipment, servioes, e'to.

h

the latter donoerns the quality of the building struoture and the state

"of repa,iJ' o! i tsparts.Short oj carrying out detailed and expensive

,

teohnical enquirfes ,thequalit:Y o! the hOUsing stook, may be,broadly ,a",sessed byi'sUchindioators assize, equipment and age of the dwellings.

12. Future housing requirements, on the other hand, or1ginatein two main faotorsl demographio developments (size of the population, its struoture and its geographioal distribu;tion) and ohanges in the housm,g stock (wh:roh

determine replaoement

req~LrementB)"

A relatively

r~li'a,~leestf!Jl8.te

^{,of future}

housing, reqllirements fsa'oom'~lioatedexeroise in ,'e:t!Y'oountry but particularly

. . !, " . -, 1 • ' . ' H

, .

.', . ..

,

.

E/CN.14/BoU/2.

Pags 4

so in Afrioa as aoonsequenoe of" the soarq;l,;l1Yeof faot\lllJ. information antl of the errors inherent in any projeotion of future developments in fast growing oountries. Sinoe suoh assessment implies many assumptions, these sP.Quld be oonstantly reviewed in order to adapt produotion to requirements.

Thus, for instanoe, demos;aphio trends affeoting future housing requirements should not 'be

exten;e~'o~r

more ,than twenty

ye~rs

- in the oase of African oountries evenless ..,. owing to the diffioulty of adopting reasonably accurate assumptions as a basis of oaloulation.

13. The me~odsoutlinedabove oonoern an estimate, of the number of dwell- ings required. But !I- realistio progrl,\lDJlle, must aleo differentiate thesere- Il.uirements, aooording to the size and the type of dwellings; different

households of different sooio-professional oategories and different inoomes

requir~.differentdwellings.

"

14. This is p;a.rtioularly important in Atrioanoountries, where a number of_{, ,} differ,ent so~utions on the teOJ:mioal and ,oost level appear to be neoessary owing to t~e_. extremely limited possibilities of inoome redistribution_{, . ,., .1:"}

through housing subsidies~ Also, Afrioan urban, population has a wide inoome

stratifioation.

1I " ,

15. Only ,by asoertaining the sooio-eoonomio struo,ture of thefamUies and p,ersons to be housed can a housing programme be' designed whioh will oon

~in

the rental SIld oost f!!-otors ap~ropriateto the different levels of inoome.

16. It 'is to be noted, on the other hand, that the purposo and, tpe gsne,ral oharacteristios of housing programmes, together wi~ the faotors determining their soope in Afrioan oountries, can be examined only in the light of the partioularsi tw>.1iion of ea.ohoountry.

Aooording to the summa.ry of the findings of the Addis Ababa: sooia.l structure survey oarried 'out in 1960, the inoomes of

75

per oent of tb,ehouseholds surveyed were fairly evenly divided into the three inoome groups 0-10 US$, 16-20$,'20-:-608.' The' effeot ou housiJlgpolioy of suoh a wide distribution of inoome is extremely important.

E/CN• 14/HOU/2 Page 5

17. A series of case studies of a number of African countries in the course of rapid development VTould;.l11ost probably bring to light certain features whioh could reasonably apply also to other countries facing siInilar problel11s.

This will indeed be one of the objectives of the work of the Econol11ic

COInInission for Afri.ca and of its subsidiary bodies. But it would be hazard- ous, at this early stage, to generalize on a subject which is at the root of government housing policies. Consideration of the problel11s.of the

fOrInul~tion of housing policies an~ the il11plementation of housing prograInIneS should be postponed until such time as considerably ~ore information is available from a number of African countries. In the meantime and as back- ground inforInation, useful reference could be made to some of the conolusions arising from the Semina~ on Housing Survey~ and Prog~aInInes,.already referred to above. Extracts from these conclusions are to be found in annex III.

18. However~ it might be mentioned here that a very tentative evaluation of global requirements (only broken down into urban and rural needs) for Aidoa as. 'a whole was attempted)! As the main result of this. experil11ent was, to give an idea of t)le importance of ,"the problem oontfnon^t .wise, it will, be referred to again in connexion with resources required for the financing

of hOUSing.

Y . ..' ...

19. Estimates of total housing needs have been attempted only ~ a few Afrioan countries.

Morocoo

20. In Morocco, an approximate estimate has been made, as part of the

1960-1964 ·plan, of"present and :future needs in urban housing. 'ilie population of bidonVilles (shanty t01i!lS) to be rehoused has been es·timatedat ,

450,000 Peoplel out ^of these, not mON than 170,000 can be considered as solvent, i.9. with a family income of

Ino~e

than 120 dirharms ($25) a month.l!

1/

See World Housing Condi tions and Estimated Housing ReqUirements, Uni t,ed Nations, Housing Building and Planning Branch, Buz-eau of Social Affairs, New,York (Mimeographed).

Y

See chapter IV, Ta")le

r.

l!

In order to facilitate comparisons, the US _~ollar was used as _{t~e ~~it} to express monetary va.Lue s , A convez-at on Table ba.aed on the official

exchange rate appears in annex I.

E!CN.14!HO'U!2 Page 6

The population of overcrowded or u.,fit dwellings has been estimated at

490,000 inhabitants, the vast majority of which could be cOnsidered as solvent if minimum standardaccommodati'on oould be provided at a rent of no more' than 4 US$ per month. The net population increase in urban areas between 1960 'and 1964, lias been estimated at 500,000 people of whom 375,000 would be considered as solvent. Thus the total popul.a.tdon to be housed 'in urban centres over the

1960-1964 period would be 1,450,000 persons. The "'effeotive" demand being ....

constituted by just over one million people, or fer approximately 40,000·

dwellings' per year.

21. Aocording to the five year plan, and if the targets of the plan are reached at the beginning of 1965 the housing situation would be as' follows: the

population of the bidonVille!!. (inoluding sanitary network) would be

app~oxiI:latelY

400,000 - an insolvent 280,000 of the present population

pl~s ~pproximatelY

120,000 (Ilemogra.phio inorease) also insolvent; the number- of occupants of overorowded an~ unfit 'dwellings would remain more or less stationary; a demographio inorease of approximately 2.5 per oent per year is expeoted _f~om 19~5 onwards in urban and rural oentres; it is estimated that one third of the inorease in rural population will go to thetowhe •.

Senegal

22. In Senegal, a quarter of the population, i.e. approximately 750,000 people, live in urban centres, small and large; half of t~e urban population is

conoentrated in t~e Dakar area. The net rate of demographio inorease· is'

approxima1;ely 2.5 per cent for the country as e, whole. Assuming "chat this' ra.te is slightly lower In ur-ban areas and that ·tbwns will absorb twofifthc brthc demographic increase of rural areas, it 'cah be estimated that _theuroa~

population will increase 'Jy app::,oximately 50,000 inhabitants per year. (The' studies on which the present 1961-1964 economdo development plan was based, estimated the increa.se of the urban population at 135,000 people in.four years;

it is ourrently admitted,:however/ that the natural increas~ of urban areas

,_. " ..

has been under estimated), Assuming the _den~ity of' oocupation adopted by

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SICAP (Soci ct,) immobili ere d11 Cap Vert) in its low cost housing estates, i.e. 2.0-2.5 persons per ha'Jitable room, current annual needs of the urban populatioi'l' would amou;.'ltto 20,000-25,000 rooms, or the equivalent of

8,000-10,000 new d"ellings. This would not include either replacemsnt needs ,or the removal of existing shortages. The present 'four year Planl! does not

include an assessment of needs, but merely an estimate of total publiO and private investment in hOUsing for an anount of 6.7 billion franos CFA (26.8 million dollars) for urban housing and 0.4 billion franosCFA (1.6 million dollars) for rural housing, respectively. At the present level of ,oosts, this would represent appro_d.ma tely 10,000 urban d,rellinga over four

"years, or 2,500-3,000 dli'sllings per year. This figu.re corresponds roughly to the estimate of activity in hOUsing bUilding for the year 1961 and should be oompared with the rouGa estiBate of current needs referred to above,

Ivory Coast

23. ,

rn

the Ivory Coast, a survey ~3 being carried out to assess the present housing si tuo.tion and to esti"l~.te future ncs da, The total population of the oountry has ^g:L'01m f:."O'1 2,523,000 (1950) to 3,338,000 (approximate estimate for 1962 based on the prolimino.ry resluts of the 1958 ce~sus). The net demographio inorease is estino.tod at 2,2-2.5 per cent. According to the 1958 census

resul ts, more th~n 40 pcz oGn'~ of the popu.lation is below i'ourteen years of age and app!'eximate~y10 per OC:lt of the population lives in tOlinS of more th,an10;OOO inh2.bitan+.s. It h~,s tec~ tentatively estima-~Jd that over the period 1,960-1969, i:1veetol,mts 1.n hou'Jing lnll emourrt to approximately 38 billion franos o,,~ (152 @illiJn dollaro), i.e. t~c eqUivalent, at the present level of budLc.Lng costs; of c·P?ro::::'D2.tel..;:r 65~OOO-7S,OOO c:.,mlli:.lgs, This is

"

oonsidered tEl rO?reo8ni: leso t.l.un half ^tv", current n oeds o:f t~e urban population.

11

^See .Pll\!l_!n'",:"drie~nal dLde,Y§l1.2J?ll~EtellU.261-196:1.,ti tr2 VIII, t!!'bles 49 and 50. JJalr."r, Senegal,

w

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 8

Congo (Leopoldville)

'24. In 'the Congo (Leopoldviile) it is estimated that only 13 per oent of urban dwellings can be oonsidered adequate, whioh means that in order to

aooommodate the 788,500 families and 86,500 single personsoonstitutlng the urbaii' population, 772,000 dwellings should either undergo major repairs or be

completely rebuilt. Assuming a replaoement rate of 2.5 per oent per annum, it would be ne~essary to' build 19,000 dwellings yearly in orde,r, to make up for the existing deficit. To this figure should be added another 32,800 representing the estimated annual ino~ease in the number of families for the

L fiVa coming years. The total number of dwellings required for urban areas only, would therefore amount to 52,000.

Republic of' South Afrioa

25. In the Republic of South Africa, estimates have been made of the total need for new houses for the urban African population. These needs are estimated at about 143,500 units to meet ex~sting shortage and replanning

requi~ementsand from 6,500 to 20,000 units annually to meet the population increase.

Uni ted Arab Republic

"26. In the UAR, there is a fairly precise estimate of housing needs, particularly'in urban areas. The results available from the 1960 oensus show the following broad picture of population distribution between urban and rural areas end the number of dwelling unitsl

Urban Rural

Total

Population 10,000,000 16,690,000 26,690.000

Number of dwellings 2,220,000

3,600,000 5,820.000

E/CN• 14/HOU/2 Page 9

27. Estimates for housing needs are prepared under three heads, i.e.

increase' in population, overcrowding and replacement of sub-standard

dwellings. As regard the first, it is estimated that the urban population has, been, increasing at' a !'ate of 289;000 persons per year, or 4.64 per cent.

Assuming that eve!'y 4.5 persons represent a need for an additional,housing unit, the total need would be for 64,020 dwellings per annum. This estimate

is, of course, subject to the imperfections of converting'the population increase into a gross housing need by assuming that a fixed number ofpe!'sons oonstitutesa household.

28. The seoond estimate is based on the results of the 1960 census, whioh showed that there are 422,893 famHies liVing in overcrowded housing. The standa!'d of overo!'Owding adopted - one room oooupied by 5 or more persons, two !'ooms by 7 or more persons and three rooms by 9 or more persons - would be regarded as low in other countries. Of the total overc!'owded families, 162,000 are in towns and oities. The following table shows the number of families liVing in 0 varcrowded conditions acoording to the size of dwelling:

Overcrowded families - All Egypt 1960 No in family 9ne room

5 108,587

6 60,716

7 19,983

8 13,008

9 5,067

10 or more 4,311

1]:0 rooms

79,009 38,835 18,429 12,852

Three rooms

26,149 25,539

29. ,The third element of housing need ariSes from sub-standard houses whioh should be replaoed. Exact records of the age and condition of all houses in urban areas have been compiled in oonnexion with censuses since 1892.

From these reoords it has been estimated that in urban areas 15,000 dwellings are required yearly to replace sub-standard houses.

E/CN.14/!IoU/2 Page 10

30." '1'0 summarize the urban housing neads , 64,020 units are 'required annually to house the inorease in population, 15,000 units annually for replaoement and, assuming overorowding oan be eliminated in ten years, 16,200 dwellings annually to relieve overorowding. This makes a total objeotive need in urban areas of 95,220 dwellings annually.

31. Polioy enVisages the entire reoonstruotion of the' tradi tional mud dwellings in whioh the majority of the rural population dwell. This is regarded as a matter to be \L~dertaken slowly as eoonomio oonditions improve in the villages and as s~oial ou'tLook on the part of villagers ohanges.

32. .Anoth,er estimate of hOusing needs in 'the urban areas derives from the 90,000 marriages per year whi~h, On ~n objeotive basis, oonstitute the main demand for new dwellings. Studies mad~iz\.di(;ate that in praotioe, out of the 90,000 casea, about 50 per oent would d~sire a new house of their own, the others, for e oonomi c or sooial reasons;"would at present prefer to share a .dwelling with the family of the husband or' wife.

'funisia

33. In 'funisia, the perspeotivee."'connale de developpement 1962-1971

inoludes an estimate of needs based on two sample surveys - one oarried out in urban areas and the other ona in rural areas - on the one hand, and on demographio foreoasts, on the other hand. In order to relieve over orowding and to replace f'~,,-rbi!'!. and othe:: insanita:t>y dwellings, 370,000 dwellings would be required, and 120,000 more to meet the demand on the . part of new householders who will. have to be accommodated within the ten comingyeare.

E/CN.14;'HOtr/2 Page 11

II. HOUSING AND RELATED INVESTI~NT AS PART OF NATIONAL IlEVELOPMENT PLANNING

34. Investment in housing and related facilities should be given appropriate prior!ty in .the national development planning of African countries. This implies in the first place a recognition of the importance of good housing and related services for balanoed e conomt o, soci a'l and political growth.

This recognition is partioularly important for the many African countries now entering the path of eoonomio, sooial and political progress as independent states. Independenoe will have enhanced expeotations of improved living .stan4ards;eoonomic and sooial planning will require orderly and stable

oonditions and the aotive co-operationof thE;lpublic at large •.. The early years of independenoe inevitably bring transitional difficulties, tensions and pressures as the country progresses towards its goals. In .this context, the importanoe of improved housing and urban services is oritioal -in showing tangtRle

.

^'. . . . ' . 'b~perits. of.national progress, in providing a settled urban popula- tion ~s.thebasisfororderly eoonomio and politioal development and in improving the heal th and productivity of the labour force.

35. In this oonnexion it appears useful to give some examples of·the expansion of.urban populations in Africa:

- In Algeria, the rate of increase in large oities represents on average

·'·1bout twioe the demographio inorease rate in the oOlli,try as a whole,

·1.:e. ·about· 5 per oent per year instead of 2.5 per cent;Y

In·Morocoo, it is estimated that. th~ urban population increases at a . rate of 4.5 per cent per year, i.e. more than twice the rate of increase

of the population as a whole;

11

Amenagement du territoire et construotion en Algerie, Rugues de Fraysseix, Ministere de la oonstruotion, Paris, Maroh 1962.

E/CN.14,!HOU/2 Page 12

In Kenya, the urban population is estimated to have increased, since 1948, at an average annual rate of 6.8 per cent, as compared with 2.25 per cent for the population as a Whole;

In the United Arab Republic, the preliminary results of the 1960 census have disclosed an average annual increase of 4.64 per cent since 1947;

In the Congo (Leopoldville); the population of ElisabethVille has increased by 9.52 per cent per year on average between 1947 and 1959;

this rate has reached 10.67 per cent in LeoPcldVille,1I

The population of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is estimated to have ,increased by at least an average of 10 per cent per year in the last ,few Years;

~ The population of Accra, Ghana" has disclosed 'an average annual 'rate ofinorease of 11.29 per cent between 1948 and 1960,11 ,

In Lagos, Nigeria, the population has increased by 4.69 per, cent per year between 1950 and 1960;

In Dakar, Senegal, the average annual increase is estimated, since 1936, at 6.1 per cent per year; acoording to certain, estJmates"it would even have reaohed 16 per cent between 1955 and 1960'Y , - According to an official estimate, the population in MogadiSCio,

Somalia, is believed to have doubled in ten years, eqUivalent to an average annual increase of 7 per cent;

- It is estimated that the population of Khartoum and its suburbs, Sudan, ,will increase at an

av~rage

annual rate of 4.8 per cent,iI For Africa South of the Sahara, the 'expansion rate for twenty-eight cities now exceeding 100,000 inhabitants, was of about 5 per cent for the period 1931-1948 and of 5 per cent' for the period 1948-1960, with high regional variations during the second period during which the rate of expansion exceeded 8 per cent in Central and West Africa (not

including

Nigeria)~

Demographio Factors and Trends (SEM/URB/AF/4).

Aspects de la politigue du logement

a

Dakar, Ministere du plan, Dakar,1962.

Master Plan for Khartoum, prepared by Doxiadis Associates, 1959.

Introduotion to the Problems of Urbanization in Tropical Afrioa (SEM!URB!AF/1) ,

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 13

36. ,It has been estimated that in Afrioa as a whole, the urban population will almost double between 19'60 and 1975, rising from 39 million to 74

million.J! This inorease is,

t~king

plaoe in towns and oities where populations are alrea:dy living in grosslyoVerorowded

Y

!l..''ld insanitary oondi tionslwhere, in some

a~eas,

there is no piped drinkable water suPPlyJIand water-borne

s~weragJ,:j'

is a rari ty; 1;1:orc people are

:f'orced~

through shortage of housing, ,to pay ,as muoh as 40 to 50 per cent of their inoome for dwellings often

~onsisting

of only one room; and 'Where long travel to and from work, .due

~o

the same reasons, _saps'th~ health and energy of the labour foroe.

37. The developing orisis in Afrioa indioated by the foregoing figuree 'shows the importanoe to be 5iven ~n'national development planning to the improvement of housing.. and urban ser/ices,

',." ;~:

'I'c 8~ot',cl be recognized that tl;lese problems_,. "

oan neyer be solved entirely, The advanced countries, with national, . peFoapi ta ino'omes as

'..

hi'~ ^.a.s forty times those 'of Afri,oa.n,^" oountrie~, ,13~P..l have problems of housing and 'urban servioes. 'But unless steady improvement is made in housing 'and' urban serVioes'itl Africa, the effeot of a rapid

: ' • J

increase in urban population, added to the already miserable oonditions, will be inevita~lY to threaten orderly politioal, sooial and economio,life. This '" problem of improved housing and ur-ban servioes is, therefore, one of1'!te

most serious oonfronting 'Africa.

t.6d!i.;y ;;..

and'i te 1IIlplioations extend bllyop.d

" ...

Africa - and it should reoeive proper priority in call national develcpment plann:Lng.

,

:'""

J!

Y

$ee World Housing Conditions ~d Estimat~dHousingRequirements. oPe ~it.,

Tabl'e'

5,

^{' c '}

Some official. exatn;(lla s ,aJ.'e ,2.. 6 psrE:ons per room in Khartoum North, 400-

500

persons peraore iri:N'a.Nobi~13":'14families ,per house in Mombal!!!L' At Oran,Algeriaj'the'1954c~nsuo(whioh did not take into a.ocount

dwellings of the> bidonville type) indicated that the averagede:Qsity was of 1.4 room per dwelling a.'ld'-3 persons per room. At Tananarive,,:Madagasoar, about 5 per cent of the Malagasy population live in one-room dwellings.

,In the medinas of Casablanca, MoroG'Jo, the density varies from 1,300 to 1,7Q()inhabit~nt'il pei" heota.re, , , . " " "

For eXample Moga:!iisct09,Somalia., wi tha p0P.11la.1'i9.P. of ,arOu!l:d 150,000 p e r s o n s . ' '

A survey of six areas in Addis Ababa showed that 17 per cent only of households had a water oloset,

---'-_''"''_'''''''''~_C'''~''~_'--''-'''''''''''''' '~'~_ _

E!CN.14/Houj2, Page 14

-~..';;,

38. Apart from,the foregoing paramount oonsideration, the importanoe'of . hOllsing and ,urban servioes in national development plans is

oertifi~d'fo~

^,

ma.nyo"'ll.Elrrea~\:lns. Employment, both direot and indireot, in thil building indlistr;r ,is,an important element in bUoyant econcmt c growth. This employment oan, ,also Pe oreated more rapidly and more easily than other types of employ- ment. Housing,provides a tangibie objeot for personal Savings and effort which will. add to investment resources and capital formation. Improved, well looated houSing and urban servioes will increase the mobility, health and produotivity of the labour fOroe.

39.

The exaot degree of priority to be given in eaoh national development

plan

"'0

housing and urban services can be determined on one side of the

aooount, only in the light of the defioienoies and of reqUirements asoer- tained as reoommended in seotion I. These asoertained requirements are

Elssential to ensure that housing and urban servioes reoeived adequate "weight"

in the allocation of resouroes,between competing demands. The establishDlent of ar,ecoBillillled order of priority for housing and urban services in long-term national planning will provide the neoeseary focus for the mobililllation in an assured and oontinuingprogramme of all relevant resources, human' and material.

Suoh o~mtinued andtl,ssured programmes are, in faot, essential to the development and improvement

~f

building teohniques and methods to lower oost •

.1I,

40. From the figures cited earlier it is obvious that_the housing required on an objeotive assessment of need cannot be provided entirely. In faot there ,is ,!-.wide,~eof requirements according to the ,type of dwellings, their

funotional- Oharaoteri~t:ios, teohnical 'standards, cost and looation. In a ' sim,Plified perspsctive, it is possible to classify them into 'three ,main categories: those relating to large urban centres, to small and'mida+e-size towns and to rural areas.

The striking oost results aohieved in South Afrioa wereoer~inlyinfluenoed by the massive programmes exeouted, amounting to 158,000 houses .for Africans in ten years.

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 15

41.

The housing p::,obl"m in l",rg" Africa~~ ur-ban centres is very similar,"

both in it~ teok1ical aspect and im~urtancc, ^{to that} prec~ilingin^most of the large

'lrb~".?entres

in the "arId ',:here there is a housing, Elhortage •

.1I

The urbantzetion phenomena. which characterizel\ the last hundred years and the rhytlun of whioh has increased in Afrioa sines the last wa."',now raise in ra.'rge African .capi tOIls

problelll~

of such magni tude thaton1ymass methods oan be expeoted to solve them. Without taking into cOllsideration:thedelfoate problems of land occupation and man~gems'lt, the housing problem in large Atrioan cities can bc ccnaf dez-ed ccmpo.ratiyely cOl1centratedand oould be attack~d to a certain exten"c with relatively olassical technical means, without losing sight of the latest proGress in b'lilding.to,chniques or the

adVl4-ltages to be derived from a ra'"ionalization o~' operations, 'standa.rdization of building elements and produots, organi~aticn of ma.rketsand continuity in demands spread OU"~ on several years ,,:;. thin the frameliOrk of est8,blished programmes.

42.'

'The cost 0:'.' housing pr"'r:'.ded. in 'chis classioal manner- willc,l:owever, be such that' the needs o~ large citios cannot all oe met be~ause both national and municipal z-e souz-ce c aud personal resou,!:'Oos ^0.1'0 lim! ted. Investment planninB" must, th6:.:-efo1:'<1., in.clude not only the cln.ssioal production of dwellings in pe=anent [~a7"orialE; but also t!le cnccu'r~ge!oE;:oltof che3.per solutions cueh as oal:i:-:J.elp 8.:J,cl, on ;;1. lo\;er ace.Lo agai:l, oi te and serVioe schemes. By the latter is me~nt the p~o'r.ie~"n of sitos ~lth servioes, where self-bUilders can ereo;; d,'"'all~_:lg3 in tn,npor;uy mc.terialn with minimum oash outlays and en 'ohe pri:,oiple that, givc':l curz-errt limi"ced :resources, environ- mental

stand.o,:rJ.~

^P.::'C 1".0',::'3

7.:""1~.)::':"-'.J.:,?:r:.-: tll"-\~;' ch{'~

^..

-~c:'"

Gt0:::,d(1..i: ....

:'G,<~j S'~:ch

^{" .}

mobilization cf non-monetizea :rssou~cen th:roug!l the strategio use of investment resouroes is an importB.2-:'·~ e.lement in i::lvc.g-1;w.e~:lt pla.."1.1lingo

See in particular documence pr-e sonbcd .J.t ,"'.10 Wo.rl::sh'-'p 011 Urbanization in.

Afrioa, Ad.diz A':2.b8., 25 April-5 ]lay 1962, .

In Burma and L,dia d~ch an ap~rc~ch hus been adapted to the needs of tha lo~,est Income familieu. Afric",,: e:ra::1ples arc J.!o;radisoio (Somalia)$ where the municipali t;r lee.ses plots for the erE;c'vio:~: cf dW011ings in temporary materials and South Africa libere it "becm.;9 atat" policy in 1953 to layout new tonnships and pro,~dc families witn e ser,~ced site on >:hioh they could build. tamyoZ'.-:.;:':" shacks :p2::ed.::~lg th9 ~rection of permanerrt dwellings ..

Madagaece.:r· <ella Moroc.co alec

",we

c dopto d this a.np:roach, while cther governme~t (e,g, C~"erclm, CenGo (]razzav~lle) and. Central Afrioan Republio ar-a nO-,T coni;cmpJ.a':.;in.c: st"lilnr 'lolucionCl,

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 16

43. On the other hand, the problem of rural housing, as has been stated again and again by those who dealt With it in developing countries, "and espeoiaily in A.frica, is not a quantitative but a. qualitative one. In practioally all rural regions in Africa, materials available 011 the. spot at avery low prioe are perfectly adapted to the needs of rural populations who have been using them for many oenturies to build traditional dwellings • . Theoonstruotion of suoh dwellings itself could be improved, inasmuoh as

certain traditional materials (especially roofing materials) could be _re~

plaoed by others manufactured on an industrial basis. Generally speaking, it does not seem possible tc solve the problem of. rural housing without resorting to the knowledge and experienoe of the population itself. On the other, hand, an important effort must be made in order to improve sanitary oondi tions and to proVide basao serVioES such as a drink&ble water supply,.,

:l!l, simple sanitation system,' etc.

44. There still remains the delicate problem of small provinoial urban centres, some of which are fully develope~, some merely keeping alive, while others are threatened by structural cha.ng~s taking plaoe in the country.

Seoondary urban centres often constitute a. halt for rural populations

migra·ting to the capital and it is perfectly possible to imagine that their development; both eoonomic and ooci al , could limit migratory movements from

. .

^.

the country to the city. This idea of developing small centres, meant to become "attraction poles", appears in fact in certain developnent plans, notably in Senegal and Ivory Coast. As far as housing is conoerned, such

centres - the population of which can va=y frcm 2 to 3,000 (large semi-.·

rural Villages) up to 50,000 (in ..hich oaae they are real industrial,

commeroial or ad~inistrative cities) - _p~esent problems which also arise both in large centres and rural areas. Most of these centres have gro,m regardless of:all availability of space. It is therefore necessary to proVide them.witll simple directives, the implementa.tion of which should 'bo possible without a ....

qualified personnel which is ahrays ecar ce ,

.

The nuoleus of an urban type of dwelling in these small towns is generally constituted by those built for

·' "."Ih!' b

E/CN. 14/HOU/2 Page 17

ciVfl servants. A special effort should be made in order to improve the . lay-out of these houses which are often use.das a: model for most of the spontaneous oonstructions whieh will grow around such small urban centres.

These constructions often result from a hasty, and not too successful, transformation of traditional rural housing in which the local building industry at an early stage allowed the Gubs,t! tution of certain materials for others. The problem is therefore a qualitative and -·.to a lesser degree than in large oentres - a quantitative one.

45.

The integration of investment in housing and urban serVioes into

national development planning will require speoial attention tobEl',devoted to standards and costs so that the available resources Will be used to the' max1JDum adw,ntage. It must be recognized here that the past experienos' of newly independent Africari states has been unhappy as regards the standards applied to so-called "African housing". There is no doubt that these

standards were in some cases much too low. On the other hand, reasonable',."

min~mum standards, were often applied. The, issue now is to assess objectively in the light of all, relevant social, economic, technical, traditional and heal th .considera tions the, minimum standards appropriate. Housingstani¥Lr~s

enjoyed by colonial officials are not relevant to the issue of the standard of the permanent dwellings in which the mass of the population must and can be housed. Even the advanced countries are forced in their large programmes of social hous~ng to proVide dwellings which, by objective standards; are'less

-. ' ' .' .', 'I " . .

adequate than they would be if resources were greater. Standards should be . based on careful researoh'into all factors; they should be kept under cOl:i's!tant

review and improved according to the opportunities offered by, social and .

eClon~mio progress. Provided,oertain basic standards of. 'construotion and health a.1'eadhered to,. peil.'manent'dwell1ngs supplied now Will be-capable of satisfaotory use through9ut their life despite expeoted social·.and economio changes. 'It is probable that,' as in,many European 'countries, standards of size· Will' have to be lower than would be desirable !-f resources were better.

E/CN.14jHOU/2 Page 18

For example, the UAR considers overcrowding to exist only where there are more than three persons per room.. Over the life of permanent dwellings now provided, i t will always 1;>e possible to find fam;l,l1:es. tqoccupy. them.

at lower density standards than may now be possible. In many countries, as has been pOinted out above, there may well occur among certain sectors of population a stage where shelter standards are regarded as less important

than environment or community standards,

46. In the context of over-all investment planning it is not only a question of determining minimum standards. One expensive dwelling may oonsume as muoh investment resouroes as several eoonomioal minimum-standard houses. I~ a oontext of limited and soaroe resouroes and partioularly, as is :the oase with most Afriotl.ll oountries, where building materials must be imported at high cost, the adoption of reasonable maximum standards for all types of construction neserves serious consideration. Available resouroes, fintl.lloial and material, may thus be spread muoh further.

47. Only thoroughgoing researoh into standards, building oodes, by-laws, densities, the ratio of roads and servioes to plots, eto. can ensure the progressive integration of investment in hOUsing and urban servioes with national development planning. This whole question of bUilding researoh is deal t wi th in annex V.

48. Generally, the .measures outlined above for the integration of housing_{. .} tl.Ild related programmes with other development programmes are only now be-

~~ing to be undertaken in many Afrioan, oountries.

49. For example, this integration has reaohed an advanced stage in the United Arab Republio, where, as was seen in section I, a relatively preoise

estimate of housing needs has been made particularly in urban areas. It was estimated that to provide the required number of .90 ,000 urban houses annually would oost66.5 million Egyptitl.ll pounds, and it was decided that onlyhl!-lf the number oould be provided. Total investment in housing rspresents 8.6

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 19

per cent of planned investment during the Five Year Plan 1960~1965, which in turn amounts on average to about 10 per cent of the gross national product. Housing is divided. into three categories of cost, viz. economf c, aveJ:'age and above. average. The pattern of urban housing aimed at is 28,500 economic dwellings, 13,750 average dwellings and 4,750 above averags

dw-ellings.

50. In' Tunisia, it has been estimated that only part of the needs could be met in the coming rears)..! The first versiOn of the Perspective decennale de developpement 1962-1971 estimated the global investment in the field of

housing at 547 million dollars, eqUivalent to about one fifth of the internal gross fixed capital formation for the decade. The global investment was b:rc:>ken down as follows: 130,000 popular rural dwellings at $140,000 (600 dinars), 70,000 rural dwelli~gs at $1,100 (490 dinars), i.e. 267 million' dollars (112 million dinars) plus 76 million dollars (32 million dinars) to be added for roads and ssrVices1 amounting to a total of 343 million dollars for this category. On the other hand, a further investment of about 200

million dollars was oontemplated for the construotion of dwellings for workers (24,000 units at 2,000 dollars) and for private oonstruotion._{. ..} But the final version of the perspeotive disolosed that a notable rebate had to be performed on the original plan, siLoe the total number of popular dwellings was reduoed froQl..200,000to 130,000 units. The total investment for the deoade is

finally of. 172.5 million dinars (411 million dollars), i.e. 15 per oent of the limit internal fixed oapital formation.

51 •. In Kenya in 1959 about 17 per oent of total capt tal formation was in reSidential oonstruotion; in Nigeria in 1957, about 26 per csnt j in Tanganyika in 1959, about 32 per oent. These relatively high figures illustrate the importance of a olose examination of IiouaLng polioy and s tandar-de 1dthin the oontext of general investment planning. In Kenya for example, offioial statistios for 1959 show that 676 residential bUildings erected in the six main towns oost on average over 32 ehillings per sq. ft., which is at the upper range of bUilding costs in

Kenya.~

11

See para,j3 above.

~ Trade and SU'Pplies Bulletin.vol.VII - :To.4₁ April 1962.

E/cN

.14/liotJ!2 P"'ge 20

III. HOUSING ADMINISTRATION AND PROGRAMMES

52. The formation and implementation of 'housing polioy and programmes require an ade~uate administrative struoture. Experienoe in the advanoed oountries has shown the need il.or a central housing' ministry,or agency of ad equa.t e status, which as'certains housing needs, enaur-ea that' appr-opr-Latie' priority is given to housing and related programmes in national development planning, formUlates housing policy in its'sooial, financi'al and teohnioal details, is responsible for' housing lebislation, co-ordinates the work of all agencies concerned with housing and related programmes, administers publ'ib financing of housing and related programmes and : ' , '."',,

tion of housing programmes.

53.

There is a trend .of opinion in favotu'of combining the central govern- ment functions in phy~ical dev~idpm~nt planning with those in housing and related services •.J!'HoU:sing

~nd

rela'ted c6:tvicss form the major share of physical development and indeed are the determining factors as regards most other types of pj'ysioal development. Also, many of the relevant cost

factors, such as availability and cost of land, densities, building ood'es, zoning, etc. are determined by physioal planning: re'l.uirements. The plannning of physioal development provides the means ofco-ordinating all types of"

physioal development whioh fall outside the strict scope of a housing ministry but which are linked to residential construction, e.g. industrial development, development 'of natural resources, transport, etc. Many

central ministries or agencies in industrializ8d countries ,now combine these functions.

54.

It should be added, however, that this trend of opinion and practice is by no means universal; the precise constitution of the central organ' responsible for housing policy and prBgrammes will vary with national administrative and other 'coriddt Lona , 'In 'effect,it is usual to find two main types of organs,

hoc nroup Report of the ad

op.cit.page

18.

I

See the reoommendation to this effect in the ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

of Experts on Housin,.; and Urban Development.

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 21

a ministry or a speoial housing board or oorporation. There appear to be' two important principles which should be observed in the constitution of suoh bodies. The first is that whether it is a ministry or a speoial ageney, the~e should be olea~ ministerial responsibility t~r it. Unless a :special agenoy has the status conferred by direct ministerial res- ponsiblity and representation, there will be a danger that its voice in central planninu decision will not be effective.

:,5.

_5,. ~ecial,importance a.tvaches to the adequate staffing of a oentral housing and physical p'Iann in" 'o'rgan. In Lfrinan o-onditi"Onst1lis

p'res'Jhts'

the uaua.l, 'diffioul ty of shorta6'e of trained personnel. National training

pro~mes should, therefore, pay special a ttent ion' to the development ~f

personnel for housing administrations. This oonoerns not only professional and teohnioal personnel whose training and education already form part of most nat~onal programmes. Housing administrators, economists, sociologists, and statistioians are as important for the suooessful development of housing

policies and programmes as arohitects, engineers and physioal planners and,

.1 . "

in many areas of deoision they are indispensable. ,The development of these housin; skills should, therefore, receive ~riority in national training and

eduoational programmes. Countries with well-staffed housing and planning ministries oould contribute effectively to the development of similar bodies in African countriGs by providing training faoilities and by loaning staff to train African personnel.

56. It would seem particularly desirable in African conditions to provide facilities for the participation of interested outside bodies in the work of a central housing and physical planninJ administration. In the first place, beoause of limited trained or qualified personnel, the advice and assistanoe of private persona with special knowledge or skill should be tapPed. This would apply, for example, to architects and other professional personnel in private. It is not only a question, however, of advice and assistance, African countries are entering a period of large development

~ and expansion in the bUilding materials industries in circumstances requiring many diffioult and sometimes painful decisions on such questions QS standards,

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 22

cost, building techni~ues, types of dwelling and methods of approaching the' housing problems of special income or sooial categories. The ran~e and oom- plexity of deoisions to be made will tax the limited resources of offioial housing bOdies. These decisions, however, will not only have wide repercuss-

"\ ~

ions but will oLten re~uire for their sucoessful applioation the oo-operation and understanding of all oonoerned in the building process, inoluding the consumer.

57.

It is partioularly important in develcping oountries that oitizen. 8h~ld

und~Btendond J;!ilXti.cipato: iXl tho housing polioy and programmes cwing tc the lack of resouroes for establishing strcng official administrative crganizations and because, for economic reascns, reliance must be plaoe~at

some 'point on non-monetized resources in labour and materials.

58.

In the advanced countries, the foregoin& considerations are less im- portant, though there is growing realization of the need for closer 80-

operation and co-ordination among t"ose involv€d in the building process,

59.

It seems highly desirable, therefore, that in establishing or develop- ing the administrative maohinery for housing and physioal planninJ the Afrioan oountries should, through consultative bodies and national building counoils, seek to inoorpcrate in the deoisio~-makingprooess the aottve ocntribution cf representatives of the _inte~ests affeoted.

60. The implementation of a housing programme will require looal agenoies and organs to plan and execute their programmes within an over-all policy determined at the oentra1 level. '~ere there is a looal gcvernment system, the natural oourse will be to use and strengthen this system as the agent of central housing pclicy. In scme oases, it may be neoessary to establish special local agenoies but theBe may suffer from the disadvantage cf having to oc-ordinate t'-eir aativities with tios e cf other publio bodiss responsible for, say, munioipal servioes. OWing to the soaroity of teohnioal skill, it

is desirable that oentral housing 'organs should provide teohnioal servioes to smal" looal agenoies and bodies. It is at the looal level that oitizen partioipation through self-help sohemes, oo-operative and mutual-aid bodies and so -on, can be most effective.

E/CN.14/HOU/2·

Page 23

61. One of the primary funotions of a oentral housing and pbysioal planning organ is responsibility for legislation governing housing and physioal

planning. The details of this legislation will vary with national oiroum- stanoes but its main purposes may be stated as follows:

(a) Establishment of responsibility at government and looal level for housing and physioal planning;

(b) Definin6 the powers of central and local bodies to ereot dwellings for sale or rent;

(0) Defining the sources and terms of finance for the ereotion of dwellin5B by central or local bodies;

·(d) Defining in relation to dwelling construction by publio bodies the standards, rent or sale terms, eligibility for housing, method of awarding tenanoies, maintenanoe, etc.

(e) Defining the terms of publio finanoial aid to persons and bodi3s, other than pu~lic bodies, ereoting or financing houses for own oooupation, sale or rent;

(f)

Defining as a oondition of suoh financial aid, the teohnioal, oost, rent, social and other standards and oonditions to be observed;

(g) Provision, in the formulation and development of housing polioies and programmes, for consultative status of intereeted outside.

bodies and individuals;

(h) Provision for the establishment of systematic researoh into housing, building and physioal planning problems;

(i) Defining responsibility for the preparation in full _detai~ of town and regional physical development plans;

. (j) Granting to appropriate bodies adequate powers of enforoement of the requirements established in physioal development plans;

(k) Granting to public bodies oompulsory powers of land aoquisition under appropriate arrangements for compensation. Such powers to inolude advance acquisition of land for development;

---_.---~._---'

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 24

(1) Granting to public bodies ad equat e power-s to survey housing con- ditions and to control the use of dwellinGs, including the power to r equt.r e demolition, repa:.:-, clc"ure or reduction of overcrowding;

(m) Granting powers to control rents as appropriate.

62. Comprehensive information on the agencies responsible for, housing and physioal development and on the number of dwellings being erected by each agenoy is not available for Afrioa. Very few Afrioan oountries oolleot

periodioal statistioal information on the total number of dwelling units buil t.lnformation is cf't en available en the number of dwelling units authorized or aotually built in metropolitan and municipal areas, where suoh ccnstruction is subject to building licence and to some scrt of techni- cal control by local authorities. Even in such cases, however, a considerable

numb~r of "irregular" dwelling units erected in bidonvilles, slums or over-congested areaS escape all control. Statistics on rural housing are praotioally hon-existent. The systematio oollection of this information for the continent will help countries to oompare their administrative arrangements and to assess each other's progress. This in turn will lead to exchange of information about suocessful methods and policies.

63. There is in Africa a wide range of methods of dealing with low-oost housing construction, both by the government and private initiative. Suoh a v~riety results from the individual charaoteristics cf each oountry and from the impact - in certain African countries - of ways and structures of foreign powers to which these ocuntries were linked before they beoame in- dependent. The present,paragraph aims at illustrating, through concrete examples from the experience of a number of t;pical countries, the part played by public powers, semi-public bodies or private initiative in the construction of low-cost ..Dr so-called "social" housing.

64. The role which central government can play is well illustrated by the case of Morocoo which is, among African oountries, one of ttose in whioh the Government is more directly responsible for the implemenation of 10.- cost housing p:'og;-a.rnll'es. The planning as well as the implementation and manageme,ntof such programmes are the responsibility of the Ministry of

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 25

Public Works and, more.particularlY"of its Department of Urbanization and Housing. The latter includes four seotions:

- the Section of Urbanization, which is responsible for manageme~t,

plans and for the delimitations of zones suitable for the construction of housing units;

- the Housing Section, responsible for supervising the actual oonstruotion;

- the Central Housing Office" responsible for all surveys used ,as a basis for'the establishment of low-cost housing programmes and for tl:le allooation 'of suoh dwellings;

- the General Studies Offioe, whioh indioates t~le trends of 1;he Government's general polioy in the field of low-oost housing.

Both the Housing Section and the Central Housing Office have regional Offioes within the framework of the decentralized structure of the 11inistry of Public Works.

65. State action in the field of housing is twofold. On the one hand, the Housing Seotion is directly responsible for the oonstruction of about' 4,500 dwellings per year, allocated on rent to the irthabi tants of slums and overpopulated medinas. However, the manabement of the State's real estate is in the hands of the Direotion of Domains whioh entrusts it to a private body, the Compagnie immobili~re franoo-marocaine. The latter pays to the Domains 50 per' cent of the returns and retains t e,:"'o-tHe'r:," 50 per oent for management and maintenance costs.'

66. Besides direct coria'tz-uct Lon, the eta te low-cost dwellings by granting Loarrs to

encourages t' e building of persons wishing to build their own houses. There are two types of loans:

- Those extended by the State in order to facilitate, by means of _tenan~­

purchase, ownership of dwellings built bJ the housing Section;

- Those extended by private furtds or banks; among these there. are again two categories: those extended by regional savings and c,redit bodies

E/CN.14/HOU/2 Page 26

to persons of very restrioted means, and those aimed at persons enjoying a medium-size inoome, generally supplied by the Caisse des pr~s

immobiliers du Maroc.

67.

Details of loan oonditions are given in section IV dealing with the financing of housing, it is also to be noted that the State contributes in various ways to alleviatinb refund costs, espeoially through interest rebates.

68. Besides direot buildinb and credit exten4ed to potential builders for the purchase of their dwellings ,the state also provides various incen- tives in order to encourage oitizens to participate in lo~cost housing programmes. The main ones are the following:

- Self-help housing;

Nucleus .plots;

Economical plots.

69. Within the framework of the self-help housing programme, the Ministry of ~lorks provides plots, e~uipped with water supply, sewerage and electri- city. Excavation and foundation works are performed under the supervision of the Housing Seotion; such plots, the area of which varies from 64 to 120 square meters, are allocated to oandidates whose income is proved suffi- cient tc ensure completion of the building. Besides serviced plots, the Government provides certain materials and e~uipment such as .indows and wooden ·.d00rs, 8an1'a1'1 equipment and, on r equest , parpen.

70.

In the oase of the so-called "nucleus plot" programmes, the State provides plots of 8 x 8 meters, e~uip?ed with water, sewGrs, roads and electricity. These lots are rented under forty year emphyteotic leases.

They are intended for Lteadily employed heads of family (20-40, monthly in-

~)who, however, have not sufficient means to buy the land and build the house at the same time. The so-called "economical plots" of about

70

square metres, are sold at their cost value. As in the case of "nucleus plots"

construction is undertaken by oontracted private ,enterprises according to plans sup?lied by the Ministry and established under its direct supervision.

_ W I.U

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Page 27

71. To meet the needs of the poorer part of the population, the "tate has undertaken: to improve ex.i stm.; slums (pidonvilles) by providing 6'enera:I~equipment (roads, collective >Tater points, collective lavatories, e ewer-age system and, in certain cases, electric net-,lOr;,); to install , "aan.i tary networks" on bare sites already provided >Ti th general equipment

and public sanitary facilities; finally to build one-poom'units with a

water point and a sho>Ter-lavatory on plots ec,uipped lfi th individual sanitary facilities. These nucleus d>Tellings are let for,about 2 a month:

it is understood t"a t tenants can build on their 0>Tn, >Ti thout any changes in the,' rent rate, either an 'addi tional room in durable materials or a temporary shack. The latter formula is at present retaining the attention of public power-s and it is likely that it might be llidely expanded, especially ,.in 1(he neighbourhood of la:r'"e urban centres.'

7-'2. Finally the "nationaJ:':'promotion" housing programme partly financed . >Tith American 'aDslstanhe" is to be mentioned. 1'he 1962 programme provides

for the'construction of about 2,600 dFellings as follO>Ts: 1,500 in

. Casablanca,' 700 in .Marrakech and 400 at Kenitra. The"building character- Lst Lc.s.i.and sanitary and technical s-tandards of such dwellings are about the same as' those described above. As far as possible, such' d1>relliniSS'will be built by labourers who will receive a daily salary of 0.40 plus an equal amount in food-stuffB.Labourers are recruited among the unemployed of

the region on a rotatory basis so as to ensure t>TO >Teeks of work per month.

The Ministry of Public-iorks >lill supply skilled inan-epoxer-, materials and part of the equipment, as well as t~ctni"al supervision.

73. Such dwellings >Till not belong to the tenants but >Till be managed, like other state-built housin,s units, by the .Jirection of Domains; rent returns will be used for maintenance, management cost and partial amorti- zation of construction cost.

74. The total number of dwellinGs builtin 1961 has been estimated as follows:

- 4,000-4,500 dwellinGS ?uilt directly by the Staxe;

- 2,000 to 2,500 dwellincs of the"nucleus plots" type built >Tith

u

..

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Page 28

partial aid from the Statol

Approximately 10,000 dwellings built by privata initativo in urban araasI

• An undetorminad. nU/1iber of rural dwellings estimated at a maJl:imum o.f S,OOO.

Thus tho total number of dwellings built every year o~n be estimated somewhere in the range or 20,000 to 25,000 units.

75.

It has been deomed useful to elaborato On the Oase of Moroooo oinoG the partiOipation of tbe ~tate in the field of low-oost housing presents

~ wido rAnge

ot

difforent solutions.

16.

tn other Afrioan oountries, the main investor is not tho stato but :l"eal Qstato agetlOiell, whose oa.pital is Sl:!:pl~.edeither by tho state :!.teal!

or by ~arious interna.tiona.l economic co-operation funds.The operatin~ process of suoh agenoies is practioally the same in several ·;est African countries, notably in Senegal (Societe immobiliere du Cap Vert,SICAP), in Ivory Coast

(Societe d't~banisme et de construction de la Cote d'Ivoire, SUCCI) and Cameroun (Societ~ immobiliere du Cameroun, 0IC). Particulars of the terms on which these societies provids dwellings will be found in section IV on the financing of housing.

77.

In Senegal and other African oountries, there are also public HLM (Low-Cost Housing) offices which enjoy a certain financial autonomy,but whose capital is provided eitger directly by the State or by public banks.

Thus, in Senegal, the 8ific~ Jes habitations a loyer modere, established four years ago, has built more than 2,000 dwellings allover the country, almost exclusively in urban centres.

78.

The plans for dwellinGs built bo ' the Office are drafted in its own research department and the construction itself is contracted to private enterprises or professional groups. lZost of the dwellings built so far be- long to the semi-detached one-storey type, made up of two, thEee or four main rooms and individual sanitary facilities grouped in a court~yard by two or four. Covered areas vary between 40 S.luare meters for two-room