On July 2, 2013 in Lilongwe Area 49 Sector 5, Malawi President Joyce Banda laid a foundation stone on the site for the MHC-Henani Guoji Dream Housing Project. The published pictures of the two, three and four-bedroomed houses look amazing. I am particularly impressed with the fact that besides these houses, the project also includes the building of a school, hospital and a shopping mall.
A few days after this launch, on July 10 2013, I read an advert in the press encouraging people who want to own a house to deposit K500 000 for 100 houses before September 1 2013 that will equate to K5 million. The other 5 900 houses need the whole deposit of K1 million.
The advert clearly said the demand for the 6 000 yet-to-be-built houses is overwhelming. No indication of the prices of the houses was made, neither were terms of payment; but a contact number was given for those wanting more information to call. When I called the following day, the details I got on prices and payment terms for these houses was not only baffling but also a mockery of justice and reality.
I immediately felt duty-bound to inform Malawians on what it takes to own these houses. In fact, I am in the process of getting a court injunction to stop the K500 00 deposits, plus indeed the K1 million for the other 5 900 houses. By letting people make such deposits before the start of the project, over K5 billion will be collected possibly as capital (i.e K500 000 X 100 houses plus K1 million X 5900 houses).
The prices for the houses are pegged in United States dollars as follows: (a) two-bedroomed houses at $60 000 (about K21 million); (b) three-bedroomed houses at $78 000 (about K27 million); (c) Another three-bedroomed house at $95 000 (about K33 million); (d) Four-bedroomed house at $115 000 (about K40 million). Now this is what I call a joke!
Even if you are rich enough to manage to buy this, it will be a purchase you shall live to regret as with such an amount, one can do far much better things or build better houses than this. No prudent human being in Malawi can dare spend K21 million to own a two-bedroomed house! The owners of this project are aware of this fact, hence sugar-coating their advert with the request for the K500 000 deposit!
The payment/ purchase terms are that after paying the deposit, you will choose the house you want then you are supposed to pay 15 percent of the value of the house after a month (thus K3 million for a two-bedroomed house), thereafter in one and half years, you are to make the payment of the balance (K17 million). Clearly, after making the deposits (that will total to K5 billion) a lot, if not all, of the 6 000 unsuspecting Malawians will fail to finish payment in 18 months, thus risk losing their money, or indeed, getting bank loans that may eventually make the cost even higher.
As a concerned citizen, I will not let any Malawian to be trapped in this, hence my decision to go to court to stop the depositing process.
Is management at Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) and indeed in government aware of these purchase conditions? If yes, which is likely, then I really understand why prosperity is hard to come by for most Malawians, because if we loved each other, we would not allow our countrymen to risk their money in such a project deal.
Imagine, the Chinese are involved in this and surely most of the materials will come from China where a lot of Malawians buy affordable but good quality materials for houses, yet we have such exorbitant prices for the houses? They may even bring the materials here tax-free in the name of the Dream Houses Project. My suggestion is that the project continues without asking for any deposits from people. Let people occupy them after finishing on fair rental rates as MHC does.
The author is a concerned citizen
