Low Cost Housing. Major Order For Housing Construction

U R B A N M ANAGEMENT

vised form, the new masterplan and urban development strategy provide a basis for sustainable urban development. The definition of strategic development projects marks a break with the earlier planning instruments and regulations with their purely restrictive and regulatory focus. GTZ advisers give priority to ensuring that large parts of the population and the private sector are participating.

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Low Cost Housing:

Major order for housing construction

The Mercato – a test case In the Mercato the staff of the Ethiopian-German project for sustainable urban development are currently testing how a forward-looking city management based on participation of the city population, private sector and state institutions can function. GTZ advisers act as intermediaries, bringing actors to a round table which they would previously have avoided at all costs: government agency staff, tradespeople, inhabitants, NGOs and international institutions. Together, they are seeking to overcome the mistrust between them and guide the development of the city district. To clear the way for the necessary infrastructure and investment, titles and land use rights are one of the major issues to clarify. The “Mercato Millennium Development Task Force”, created with GTZ assistance, is bring together all the political, cultural and economic forces of the Mercato. Its goal is to preserve and develop the Mercato. The Task Force members hold discussions on the basis of a local development plan which the associations of merchants and inhabitants have formulated jointly and which reflects the detail of the urban development strategy. The Bauhausstiftung in Dessau provided expert input to the plan. The dialogue between the actors has produced its first results. The Mercato will have 250 security staff in future, and cleaning staff will improve cleanliness. Every stallholder will pay a monthly contribution for these services. Other priorities are refuse disposal and construction and maintenance of sanitary facilities and footpaths. Wherever possible, development partnerships with the private sector will in future take over appropriate responsibilities. “The new developments in the Mercato make it possible for all those involved to accumulate experience and break down mistrust,” Gerhard Mai notes, adding: “People here will gradually recognise that the work of the new government is increasing legal and planning security, that they are participating in the change, and that transparency is increasing.” There is still much to be done for open and transparent cooperation. The city administration must deliver on its promises to speed up the expansion of the infrastructure. New mechanisms for urban rehabilitation must be formulated, discussed and applied. In some cases it will be necessary to rezone areas, relocate people, compensate them and introduce new forms of living and working. The process requires patience and willingness on all sides to abandon outdated hierarchical behaviour patterns and adopt forms based on dialogue, pluralism and democracy. t The author writes for the Seegrund press agency in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland.

he municipal administration of Addis Ababa has commissioned GTZ to build at least 10,000 homes a year. Over 8,000 apartments are currently under construction or already completed at 19 building sites in the Ethiopian capital. Last year the Ethiopian premier Meles Zenawi formally opened the first pilot project in the presence of GTZ Managing Director Wolfgang Schmitt. The Ethiopian government is now considering whether the GTZ low-cost housing technology is suitable for constructing all public buildings throughout the country. The opening for the major order came from a regional technical cooperation component using simple technology to promote housing construction (low cost housing) in Tigray Province. Arkebe Oqubay, mayor of Addis Ababa, was convinced by the concept. Ruth Erlbeck, head of the GTZ team in the project: “We were able to offer construction prices up to 50 per cent below usual rates.” The major order from the city of Addis Ababa is supplementing the simple technology housing construction project, which is assisted by GTZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The low cost housing project is advising the municipal administration on planning and implementing programmes for low cost housing. The project is also assisting basic training and upgrading for local personnel and promoting small and medium sized construction companies. GTZ International Services, which is responsible for business with clients other than the German Federal Government, is handling the technical and financial side of the construction projects in Addis Ababa. The main goal is to solve the extreme shortage of housing, improve construction quality and at the same time create jobs. “Low cost housing technology is all about cheap, good quality and sustainable construction,” is how Ralph Trosse, technical consultant on the project, explains it, adding, “Anybody who wants to move in must buy the home and make a down payment of 30 per cent of the construction costs.” The rest is financed through housing loans with a term of 15 years. The municipal administration provides prefinancing. Ruth Erlbeck: “We are trying in this way to promote self-responsibility and ownership among the occupants. Both have a positive impact on repairs, maintenance and caring for the installations.” t

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