# **Box A.1: Housing Policy and the Formal Sector Share of Housing Production in Cameroon**

Since Cameroon’s independence in 1960, its housing policy has been based primarily on a system of direct central government intervention through three organizations: (1) the Mission d’Aménagement et d’Équipements des Terrains Urbains et Ruraux (Mission to Plan and Improve Urban and Rural Land, or MAETUR); (2) the Société Immobilière du Cameroun (Cameroon Real Estate Corporation, or SIC); and (3) the Crédit Foncier du Cameroun (Cameroon Land Credit Bank, or CFC). However, this system has met only a limited share of the demand. Despite government measures, it has produced less than 1 percent of all parcels—a supply that is further limited to the uppermiddle classes, especially civil servants.

Residents’ self-construction and self-marketing efforts created housing or parcels without central government or decentralized local government intervention. Land access has been organized in mainly informal ways: Customary authorities have developed the urban extensions, and de facto and legal landowners have increased the density of urban areas through the private rental market, the largest share of housing in Douala and Yaoundé today.

During the past two decades, private property developers have appeared, initially in response to incentives provided by the central government, such as a property development decree and tax incentives for structural projects. Yet these developers’ interventions remain modest and lack visibility.

# **Box A.2: Housing Finance Trend in Zambia**

In 2012, Zambia committed nearly US$700 million for infrastructure development across the country. With sustained economic growth each year, FDI (foreign direct investment) and investment in the housing sector have led to job creation and increased access to housing, retail real estate projects, and commercial buildings. Major infrastructure projects are going on across the country—notably, Roma Park which includes both commercial and residential components. From the supply side, there is a challenge of housing in many urban centers, especially in rapidly growing cities in the provinces of Copperbelt and North-West, where mining operations have restarted. Moreover, and according to research from UN Habitat, there is a deficit of 1.3 million housing units across the country, and the construction of 46,000 units or more per year is recommended to fill the gap.

However, between 2001 and 2011, the construction rate was only 11,000 units. The major challenge in the real estate sector in Zambia is the accessibility to units by low and middle income households, which is common in many African countries. The two main housing institutions—the National Housing Authority and the Pension Scheme Authority— promoted housing primarily for employees with medium and high incomes, excluding those in other categories. The relative political stability of Zambia's economic growth stimulated by the mining industry and its booming middle class generate continuing growth in demand for housing in major urban centers across the country. However, there is still vast potential and opportunities to apply micro-finance as an effective tool to provide housing to people in the low income bracket, who are too often overlooked.

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