The inaugural National Housing Symposium, which took place from 29th to 30th July 2024 at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe, a collaborative effort by Habitat for Humanity Malawi and the Ministry for Lands and Department of Housing, showcased the launch of the Malawi Housing Corporation’s new headquarters by His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera. The two-day event also introduced Malawi Designs, a collection of 18 disaster-resilient housing prototypes for urban and rural areas, now accessible to all Malawians, highlighting the inclusive nature of this pioneering initiative.
The symposium also played a crucial role in reviewing the National Housing Policy and identifying current gaps. Panels and presentations provided valuable insights into affordable and sustainable housing, aligning with the vision of Malawi 2063. Topics ranged from sustainable materials and disaster-resilient designs to urban planning and financing solutions like Public-Private Partnerships and social enterprises. These discussions are pivotal for advancing housing policy and implementation in Malawi.
Key participants included Habitat for Humanity, Catholic Relief Services, Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC), Malawi Red Cross Society, UN IOM, NICO, Old Mutual, Small Farm Cities Africa, Gift of the Givers, SVTP, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), NBS Bank, and Eris and many others.
Day 1: Exploring the Challenges and Innovations in Malawian Housing
The crisp early morning air of Lilongwe marked the beginning of the inaugural National Housing Symposium. His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera officially broke ground for the future headquarters of the Malawi Housing Corporation on Capital Hill, symbolizing a new chapter in Malawi’s housing development.
The symposium then moved to the Bingu International Convention Center (BICC), where attendees were greeted with vibrant songs and dances, setting a lively tone for the event. A highlight of the day was the showcase of various housing models, each built with different materials and innovative concepts. Habitat for Humanity presented a house constructed with interlocking soil-stabilized blocks (SSBs), promoting sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Catholic Relief Services demonstrated disaster-resilient housing with deep, elevated foundations to combat flooding. The Malawi Housing Corporation showcased the durability and sustainability of cement blocks, while Small Farm Cities Africa integrated agriculture and education into their housing solutions, addressing broader socioeconomic issues.
The symposium also featured tours of these model houses, allowing attendees to explore diverse housing approaches firsthand.
Talks, Panels, and Presentations
The inaugural day of the National Housing Symposium began with a reflective look at Malawi’s housing history. Surveyors Nkosi and Mawanya set the stage by examining past housing projects and their pitfalls. They highlighted issues such as poor community participation and inadequate planning, which have led to abandoned initiatives and dissatisfaction with housing solutions. A notable example was a World Bank Project that provided shell homes with basic infrastructure, only for many beneficiaries to resell their units to higher-income buyers, leading to unintended outcomes.
The symposium quickly shifted focus to urgent contemporary issues, particularly the gaps in the National Housing Policy. Mr Kingsley Mhlungu, Deputy Director of Housing at the Ministry of Lands, presented a critical review of the policy, first updated in 2019. Despite an accompanying implementation and monitoring plan, several challenges remain, including the lack of a drafted National Housing Act, regulatory issues, land disputes, high interest rates, and insufficient urban infrastructure. Lungu emphasized the need for comprehensive solutions, including incentives for affordable housing and improved funding mechanisms. He stressed the importance of robust public-private partnerships (PPPs) in addressing these issues and creating incentives for affordable housing development. Representatives from NICO expressed willingness to support affordable housing, provided there were tangible benefits for private entities. The disparity between urban and rural housing was also discussed, with an emphasis on addressing rural housing issues to alleviate urban pressure. This approach requires coordinated efforts to ensure access to livelihoods, services, education, and health in rural areas.
Addressing the issue of housing finance, it became clear that current mortgage systems predominantly benefit those already financially empowered. Past initiatives, such as the New Business Society’s housing loans, have led to increased debt and repossession, exacerbating affordability problems. This ongoing challenge underscores the need for innovative financial solutions and greater inclusion.
Amid these discussions, Habitat for Humanity showcased its approach to tackling housing challenges through sustainable materials and social enterprises. Their model emphasizes affordable, disaster-resilient housing, while Catholic Relief Services highlighted its Housing Construction Manual, which provides guidelines for constructing resilient homes.
RiseUp Malawi further explored the theme of disaster resilience, discussing the importance of integrating disaster risk reduction and response (DRRR) into housing solutions. They stressed that many communities are repeatedly affected by similar issues due to a lack of continuous learning and effective risk-reduction measures. DoDMA representatives added that existing legislation on disaster risk reduction and housing often lacks cohesion, leading to fragmented approaches.
Dickens Mahwayo underscored the need for proactive rather than reactive disaster resilience, as proactive measures are often more cost-effective and sustainable. The World Bank’s Shock Waves Report highlighted the lack of disaster risk reduction and response (DRRR) elements in Malawi’s urban housing, stressing the need for long-term resilience in the face of climate change and poverty alleviation.
In summary, the first day of the symposium set a dynamic and insightful foundation for addressing Malawi’s housing challenges, emphasizing the importance of sustainable, inclusive, and resilient housing solutions.
“Housing should be affordable outside the confines of a project or program.” – Dickens Mahwayo
Day 2: Unpacking Housing Solutions and Challenges
A call to action. Day two of the National Housing Symposium began with a recap of the previous day’s discussions, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of housing issues in Malawi. The focus remained on affordability, the effectiveness of managed rentals, the use of traditional materials, public-private partnerships, and the need for a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the National Housing Policy. This day sought to build on the foundation laid, aiming to uncover and address the multifaceted challenges in the housing sector.
John Chombe opened the day’s discussions with a thought-provoking presentation on the intersectionality of housing. He argued that housing is not an isolated entity but is intertwined with construction, social welfare, urban development, finance, estate management, and capital formation. Introducing Malawi’s Housing Profile, a diagnostic tool designed to identify inefficiencies within the housing sector, Chombe illustrated how Blantyre City’s residents, 46% of whom can only afford plots without basic services, face significant barriers due to poverty. He emphasized the need for better coordination among government bodies like the Malawi Housing Corporation and improved financing mechanisms to address these challenges.
The symposium then shifted its focus to the role of NGOs and social enterprises in tackling housing issues. Patrick Duncan Phiri of the Malawi Red Cross Society shared insights into their multi-hazard housing approach. He highlighted the importance of moving from disaster response to proactive risk reduction and prevention, emphasizing the need to rethink housing designs and materials to enhance safety and resilience. In a related vein, UN IOM Malawi presented their innovative relocation project, which integrates community involvement and a holistic approach to support internally displaced persons (IDPs). Their efforts include not just relocation but also site improvements, sanitation, and a human-rights-based approach that ensures inclusivity and environmental sustainability. Small Farm Cities Africa showcased their unique multisectoral approach to affordable housing. They address key issues such as inflation, income, and mortgage affordability through starter homes and precision farming businesses. Their model also includes commodity-based income initiatives, which help finance community development and social activities.
Dr Grace Khumalo, from MUBAS, then took the stage with a compelling discussion on Placemaking as a Process, particularly in self-built settlements within disaster-prone areas. She emphasized that placemaking involves understanding the social and spatial context of housing and argued that Malawian policies must be tailored to the local context rather than adopted from elsewhere. Her study highlighted the need for better access to secure tenure and durable materials and addressed the challenges posed by the disorder of urban lands and the lack of understanding of self-built areas.
Following Khumalo, Grace Ananda, Habitat for Humanity’s Policy and Advocacy Manager for the African Region, provided an insightful overview of the global Home Equals Campaign, which strives for equitable, safe, and secure housing. She highlighted the impact of rising urbanization and climate migration, noting that these trends are placing increasing pressure on urban housing sectors. The latest Home Equals Report identifies key drivers and impacts of climate migration and discusses initiatives such as planting trees in the Sahel region to counteract environmental impacts. With 250 affordable housing projects, Habitat for Humanity aligns with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing issues like land access, equality, sustainability, and climate change. Ananda emphasized that climate migration and urbanization should be seen as opportunities as much as challenges. These trends offer cities a chance to create climate-friendly and affordable housing solutions and engage in collaborative efforts between civil society and government. She also stressed the importance of including traditional leaders in development, especially regarding land access. Additionally, Ananda discussed the need for private sector involvement in climate-resilient and community-led housing initiatives. Multinational companies can enhance funding through foreign investments. Habitat for Humanity is working with G7 countries to increase housing funding, linking it to broader issues like health and education. Engaging in ongoing dialogue and using platforms, such as the upcoming African Urban Forum can drive coordinated regional action to address these pressing issues.
The day’s discussions continued with a panel featuring Dr. Grace Khumalo, Lucy Mwase (HFH Malawi), John Chombe, and representatives from the Ministry of Lands, NICO, and Land Economy. They delved into the gaps within the National Housing Policy, emphasizing the need for realistic targets, improved implementation plans, and better coordination among stakeholders. Secure land tenure and the recognition of informal settlements were identified as critical areas needing attention.
Academic perspectives were offered by Edda Mkombezi, Webster Sambo, and Japhet Khondo, seeking to explore innovative approaches to current challenges regarding affordable and sustainable housing solutions in Malawi. Mkombezi advocated for using disasters as opportunities for resilient planning, stressing the need for uniform urban drainage systems to mitigate flooding risks. Sambo proposed utilizing locally sourced solid and agricultural waste for building materials to enhance affordability and sustainability. Khondo focused on the Urban Heat Island effect, calling for sustainable urban planning that increases green spaces and reduces impervious surfaces to improve public health.
The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) emphasized that achieving the goals of Malawi 2063 is hindered by frequent disasters. To address this, a shift from reactive disaster response to proactive risk reduction is crucial. Constantly responding to disasters is ineffective and costly; instead, it is essential to address the human factors contributing to these events and mitigate their impacts. The Disaster Risk Management Act of 2023 represents a significant step towards this goal. Persistent issues include unskilled artisans constructing houses, the use of substandard materials, insufficient financial support, inadequate knowledge of resilient building methods, poor supervision, and the absence of by-laws enforcing safer construction practices. It is time to move beyond policy formulation and translate these legal frameworks into effective action.
The symposium’s final panel discussion focused on the viability of public-private partnerships (PPPs), a topic of significant interest. It was emphasized that for PPPs to be successful, the government must commit to allocating funds to support these collaborations. One effective model discussed was the Build-Operate-Transfer method, where the private sector constructs the housing, manages it until costs are recovered, and then transfers ownership to the beneficiaries. This model requires including the property’s value in the cost structure, allowing for rental payments until the debt is settled, after which ownership is transferred. The critical question remains whether the Malawian government is prepared to consider necessary reforms and provide services to support these partnerships. Ultimately, trust is essential for PPPs to function effectively. The private sector must trust that the government will secure the land and facilitate successful development, while landowners must believe that both the public and private sectors will deliver tangible benefits, whether in the form of housing ownership or enhanced livelihood opportunities. The social dimension is a crucial element that must be addressed when considering PPPs
Day two of the symposium illuminated the interconnected nature of housing challenges and solutions, emphasizing the need for inclusive, context-specific policies and coordinated efforts across sectors to address Malawi’s housing issues.
Policy to Practice
The inaugural National Housing Symposium underscored the urgent need for innovative and inclusive housing solutions in Malawi. The event highlighted the launch of new housing prototypes, a critical review of the National Housing Policy, and discussions on sustainable and disaster-resilient designs. Key takeaways included the importance of public-private partnerships, effective financing mechanisms, and community involvement. By addressing these areas, Malawi can advance towards achieving its housing goals, ensuring equitable, safe, and affordable housing for all.
