The Democratic Republic of Congo today suffers from a deficit of more than 4 million housing units, according to a report by the Ministry of Urban Planning and Habitat. To remedy this, President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi plans to relaunch the social housing policy, abandoned for twenty years. The minutes of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of June 2 announces the establishment of three public establishments: the Congolese Real Estate Promotion Agency (ACOPRIM) responsible for building decent housing, managing and rehabilitating real estate, the National Housing Front (FONAN) to collect the necessary funds for housing and the Single Window for issuing building permits (GUPEC).
These reforms will have the impact of improving access to decent housing and building the regulatory framework for the real estate sector, long under the aegis of anarchy, for lack of appropriate regulations.
Since the disappearance of the Caisse Nationale d’Epargne et des Crédits Immobiliers (CNECI) and the National Housing Office (ONEL), the scarcity of housing in the DRC has become permanent, while the population has experienced exponential growth. more than 100 million inhabitants since 1960. Anarchic constructions have thus emerged, without respecting town planning rules, causing human damage during heavy rains.
It is in this context that the President of the Republic has decided to support these new structures to quickly provide the Congolese population with the decent housing they deserve. The Minister of State, Minister of Town Planning and Housing, will have to present a report on this implementation during the last Council of Ministers in July.
In short, the establishment of these public establishments will make it possible to meet the growing need for housing and to fight against anarchic construction, while regulating the real estate sector in the DRC.