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Providing shelter
Sayings like “A man’s home is his castle”
and “There’s no place like home” take on different
meanings in Egypt. The fact is that although a few men’s homes
are indeed castles, for some people home is no place.
The scale of Egypt’s housing shortage is hard
to calculate. What we can be sure about is that it has a direct
and negative effect on too many lives, not to mention numerous indirect
effects. When a couple has nowhere to go to begin a family, when
young professionals are obliged to continue to share their childhood
homes, energies are frustrated and wasted. A home is not only a
necessary shelter and every person’s right, it also represents
a new beginning, a foundation, a base of operations from which we
can grow.
It is ironic that the recent mushrooming of upscale housing has
finally managed to win the housing shortage the attention it dearly
needs. This is a time when many of us are looking for an alternative
lifestyle and when options are multiplying for the privileged. But
we must realize it is also a time for recognizing the almost complete
lack of options available to the bulk of our population. There are
several reasons why the time has come to examine the situation and
remedy it.
From a purely business standpoint, it is generally accepted that
the upscale housing market is saturated. Meanwhile, there is a great
need for middle- and low-income housing. The government has done
what it can for the latter category, but now is the time for the
private sector to fill in the gaps. Middle-income housing today
represents a sound investment.
One restriction on people’s ability to own homes requires a
policy correction, namely the lack of necessary credit created by
the absence of mortgage laws. We look forward to the parliamentary
session in October that will address them. It’s more sensible
for people to own homes than rent them, but the money for home-buying
loans has been unavailable. Banks will not lend money, because old
laws prevent them from repossessing property in the absence of payment.
If this were to change, many more people would enter the housing
market, another reason why middle- and low-income housing represents
a potentially profitable and virtually untapped investment venture.
Along the same lines, the importance of registering ownership of
land, apartments and homes must be mentioned. This practice must
be instituted in Egypt, because people in need of collateral cannot
use unregistered holdings. There is a great deal of capital tied
up in property that would do more good in circulation.
From an emotional point of view, while I firmly believe that we
have every right to live well and according to our means, I also
believe that one owes one’s neighbor the courtesy of discretion.
The display of wealth in the face of want cheapens the effort that
went into wealth’s achievement. At the same time I think I
can speak for many of my friends and colleagues in saying that there
is a growing desire to share one’s good fortune and assist
the less fortunate. The demoralizing, destabilizing effects of insufficient
housing escapes none of us.
Last year, 15 businessmen got together and started the Future Foundation
under the auspices of First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, with Gamal Mubarak
as president. The mission of the foundation is to provide homes
for people in need through government land grants, private donations
and the proceeds of fundraising events. It channels private sector
funds and technical resources into the design and construction of
attractive low-income housing. The foundation do-nates half of the
cost of the apartments and supplies finan-cing arrangements to the
new homeowners, who pay the balance over an extended period of time.
So far, the foundation has been able to offer homes to 6,000 families.
At the same time, we were able to circumvent the existing mortgage
laws and enable people to buy without overextending themselves.
In doing so, an important consequence is that we’re promoting
low-income households as “bankable” and well worth our
investments.
The Future Foundation represents only one solution where many more
are needed. The main thing to recall is that the role of government
is being redefined. We can no longer sit and wait for things to
be done; rather, the private sector must take an ever more active
hand in social development. The tasks may be many, but the rewards,
both monetary and otherwise, are great. This is the point that must
be brought home. I urge you as members and people of values to help.
Mohamed Mansour
President, AmCham
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