MASVINGO — Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA) president Dr Tinashe Manzungu has called on the Government to urgently establish a dedicated mortgage bank to eliminate the primary bottlenecks hindering national housing delivery and construction industry growth.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ZBCA Annual Conference at the Great Zimbabwe Hotel, Dr Manzungu warned that the current reliance on direct instalment sales stretching between five and ten years is slow, risky, and locks out ordinary citizens—including youths, civil servants, and informal traders—who cannot afford upfront cash payments.
The conference, which ran from November 4 to 7 under the theme “Elevating Zimbabwe’s Construction Industry for World Class Excellence through Regulatory Reforms, Digital Transformation and Smart Construction,” drew contractors, policymakers, and financiers from across the region.
“We are not just lacking financing, we are lacking a system to deliver. Unlocking the sector’s projected contribution of 12 to 15 percent of gross domestic product requires an immediate, structural overhaul of national housing finance,” Dr Manzungu said.
He noted that Zimbabwe requires roughly US$16.5 billion in infrastructure investment between 2026 and 2030 across sectors like transport, energy, water, and housing. To meet this demand, Dr Manzungu proposed a specialised mortgage institution capable of injecting construction capital into development projects while extending long-term credit to buyers over 15 to 25 years.
He pointed to regional models such as the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company as successful precedents for providing long-term funding to financial institutions and housing cooperatives.
“The institution’s estate development financing arrangements are particularly relevant to Zimbabwe, where developers frequently struggle to obtain affordable funding for roads, water systems, sewerage infrastructure and housing construction,” Dr Manzungu said.
According to Dr Manzungu, a dedicated mortgage bank would accelerate progress toward Zimbabwe’s goal of delivering one million housing units by 2030, create thousands of jobs, and boost demand for local building materials. The conference also introduced a Young Contractors’ Desk to address ongoing concerns regarding high interest rates and short loan terms that restrict young builders from accessing finance.
In response, Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities Professor Paul Mavima acknowledged that the State cannot resolve the housing crisis single-handedly, stressing that the Government intends to leverage land, incentives, and policy to attract private capital in line with the “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo” philosophy.
Prof Mavima stated that under National Development Strategy 2, the Government has targeted one million housing units over a five-year planning period, translating to approximately 200,000 units annually. He added that the ministry is actively compiling a package of incentives to encourage financial institutions to offer extended-tenure mortgages at more favorable interest rates.
The four-day ZBCA conference also aligned the local construction sector with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Agenda 2063, and global Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing the industry’s critical role as a driver of socio-economic transformation.