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Zambia has made good progress in improving financial inclusion which currently stands at about 69 percent but lacks access to housing finance, authorities say.
Finance and National Planning Minister, Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, stated that despite the high demand for housing, the supply of housing was low due to unavailability of affordable long-term financing.
Musokotwane said this during the launch of the Bank of Zambia 2024-2027 Strategic Plan in Lusaka on Wednesday evening.
“According to the National Housing Policy, Zambia has a high and increasing housing unit deficit estimated at approximately 1.5 million housing units and is projected to reach 3 million housing units by 2030,” the minister highlighted.
Musokotwane noted that access to appropriate mortgage products was also constrained due to stringent requirements.
He said the magnitude of the housing challenge and the deficiency in addressing it in Zambia was evident through the considerable population residing in unplanned settlements.
“I am reliably informed that the Bank has outlined initiatives, in this Strategic Plan, that will breathe new life into the housing finance market,” the minister stated.
Musokotwane noted that it was high time for the Bank of Zambia and lending institutions acted and helped resolve this problem.
He stated that the Central Bank’s initiative in the strategic plan aligned with the housing objectives contained in the Eighth National Development Plan.
“These initiatives will not only contribute to the expansion and diversification of the financial sector, but will also address the pressing deficit of affordable national housing units,” Musokotwane said.
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Earlier, Bank of Zambia Governor, Dr Denny Kalyalya, said the new strategy would focus on areas such as enhancing the transmission of monetary policy and deepen the interbank money market.
“Undertake household and business surveys to better assess the impact of monetary policy on the economy for more informed policy decision-making,” he added.
Kalyalya further said it would also focus on strengthening the resilience of the financial system by adopting and entrancing issues and practices within the bank and in the financial sector.
He stated that the bank would also seek to leverage on its vantage position to influence adoption of ESG best practices by regulated entities among others.
Kalyalya stated the bank would also establish financial sector cyber incident response team and the security operations center with a view to incorporate artificial intelligence.
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