Government, Building Societies and Civil Society: Exploring the Interface in the Context of Urban Low-Income Housing in Zimbabwe

Abstract

There has been a persistent outcry against the negative effects of government action reflected by policy, legislation and regulations as well as behaviour, on the operations of building societies in Zimbabwe. It has for long been pointed out that go vernment policy and behaviour have been hampering the capacity of building socie ties to mobilize funds for housing, hence the small mortgage advances given to hou sing, particularly for low-income groups in urban high density areas. The government has also been accused of impairing building societies' cost-recovery mechanisms. The often-mentioned negative result is that investment in urban low-income housing has become very risky and unprofitable. It would appear that government actions with respect to building society opera tions is hitting the home-seeking civil society whose efforts at buying or building hou ses are negatively affected. This paper seeks to probe into the state and operations of building societies in the light of government behaviour, regulations and policies. It investigates the intricacies of the building society/government/civil society interface and links this to urban low-income housing finance.

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