TOO EXPENSIVE! Students Humiliate Minister Namuganza’s Housing Ministry Over Sh100m ‘Affordable’ Home Budget, Unveil Shs13m Blueprint
Namuganza presenting a a dummy cheque to. Kyambogo engineering students for their winning design
University students have demonstrated that decent and sustainable housing can be designed for as little as Shs13.2 million, challenging conventional estimates of what constitutes affordable housing in Uganda.
The innovation by Kyambogo University students impressed State Minister for Housing Persis Namuganza, who said their designs had forced her to question figures previously presented to her by officials in the housing sector.
Namuganza said she had been told that a house costing about Shs100 million could be considered affordable, only to see students produce an attractive design at a fraction of that cost.
“These young people have demonstrated the house of 30 million is very beautiful. Let us appreciate them,” Namuganza said. She was speaking on Thursday at Hotel Africana in Kampala during the University Students Affordable Housing Design Competition awards ceremony organised by Habitat for Humanity Uganda with support from Citi Foundation.
Rodney Talemwa Mubiru, speaking on behalf of the Kyambogo University students whose design won the group category, said the team deliberately set itself a strict budget ceiling before developing the proposal.
“We started with a budget ceiling. We wanted not to cross the mark of 14 million,” Mubiru said. The students then worked backwards, examining every component of the proposed house and asking what could be removed or adjusted without compromising the design.
Mubiru said the students were trying to address a dilemma faced by many Ugandans who have to choose between what they can afford and what is sustainable. “For the local people, the choice is always between what they can afford and something that is sustainable,” he said.
Rather than forcing families to spend decades saving before they can construct a house, Mubiru said the students wanted to demonstrate that a durable home could be made available within a realistic budget. “Rather than waiting 30 years of hard work to build a house, we give them one that lasts for 30 years at our local standards,” he said.
Mubiru said the award represented more than recognition for the team, describing it as an important first step towards applying their engineering knowledge to real housing challenges. “On behalf of my teammates, this award is more than just an award. It’s small, but starting small… when you think that we’ve started, we’re even far from it. But it’s a good step to take,” he said.
He thanked Habitat for Humanity Uganda for creating the opportunity and believing in the students’ ability to contribute to the housing debate. Mubiru also urged fellow engineering students to approach their work with commitment and attention to detail.
“I usually tell my engineering friends, when they give you something to do, you do it with all of your heart,” he said. The students’ approach particularly impressed Namuganza, who said she initially did not understand what to expect when she was invited to the competition.
“For me, you have raised a very important question. When I was invited to this activity, I was like, what activity is this? What have they done? But just what I have seen here, let us applaud and appreciate them,” she said. Namuganza said the students had demonstrated the value of involving universities in government programmes, particularly as Uganda struggles with rapid population growth, urbanisation and a growing housing deficit.
“When we see the university standing up, embracing this idea of affordable housing, then for me as a minister in charge of this sector, I know that this time around it is not going to be business as usual,” she said. She said a benchmarking visit to Morocco had reinforced the importance of involving universities in policymaking.
According to Namuganza, ministers she interacted with advised her that universities possess up-to-date knowledge and can challenge governments to adopt more innovative approaches. “When you do it alone, they will challenge you. When you do it alone, they will say you are not innovative and you are outdated,” she said.
Namuganza pledged government support for the initiative and said her ministry would work with universities to demonstrate affordable housing solutions that could be adopted across Uganda. She said Uganda’s housing challenge was becoming increasingly urgent as the population grows and urbanisation expands, while many people struggle to find decent places to live.
She also raised concern about homelessness, saying some people were sleeping on verandas, in churches and mosques because they could no longer afford decent accommodation. The minister, however, challenged the students to go beyond affordability by incorporating green energy, climate adaptation and disaster resilience into future designs.
“We need to see that innovation comes up here because the World Bank as well, they are promoting green housing,” she said. She said Uganda must prepare its housing sector for emerging challenges, including climate change and possible earthquake risks.
Habitat for Humanity Uganda National Director Paul Okiring said the competition was more than an awards ceremony, describing it as a celebration of ideas capable of addressing real-world challenges. He congratulated the participating students and urged them to continue developing their ideas beyond the competition.
“Your idea could become someone’s home tomorrow,” Okiring told the students. He said rising construction costs, rapid urbanisation and population growth were putting decent housing beyond the reach of many Ugandan families.
Okiring said addressing the challenge required innovation, collaboration and fresh thinking involving government, academia, industry and communities.
Habitat for Humanity Uganda Board Chair Robert Waggwa Zzimula said Uganda’s housing deficit was estimated at between 2.5 million and three million units, while the country’s young and rapidly growing population continues to increase demand.
He said the students’ innovations demonstrated the potential to move ideas from classrooms into practical solutions. Zzimula said Habitat for Humanity’s approach goes beyond constructing physical structures to include water, sanitation, hygiene and the economic wellbeing of families.
He identified construction cost as one of the biggest barriers to accessing decent housing, alongside land ownership and poverty. Citi Uganda Chief Executive Officer Sarah Arapta said the competition demonstrated the potential of young people to contribute to solving Uganda’s housing crisis.
She said inadequate housing affects families’ security, children’s education, productivity and the wider economy.
Arapta said the Citi Foundation had committed between $25 million and $50 million globally to support pioneering organisations developing scalable solutions to homelessness and housing insecurity.
In Uganda, Habitat for Humanity Uganda received a $500,000 grant under the initiative to support a market-driven approach to addressing housing challenges. Arapta said the programme was also equipping young people with practical skills in climate-smart and affordable construction technologies, including interlocking stabilised soil blocks and other sustainable building solutions.
Kyambogo University won the group design category, followed by the International University of East Africa and Makerere University. Uganda Martyrs University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology were also among the participating institutions.
The organisers said the next challenge is to move the students’ innovations beyond the competition and explore how they can contribute to practical, affordable and sustainable housing solutions for Ugandans.
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