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Access to a decent house is not only a matter of duly respecting basic human
rights but also a matter of freedom. Owning a roof over one’s head is also an
issue of self-esteem and pride. One is not only free from paying monthly rent
but also free from the bondage of landlords nagging about all the trivial damage
children may cause to the property and premises, not to mention the unexpected
raises on the monthly rent.
With the increasing population growth in Ethiopia, an influx of migrants to
Addis Abeba, and the expansion of urbanisation, housing has become one of the
top priorities to be addressed urgently before problems get out of hand and
become insurmountable.
In this regard, while the efforts being exerted to build common houses and to
provide accommodation for thousands of people are laudable, the speed with which
these common houses are made habitable does not seem to measure up with both the
suppressed and new demand.
It becomes, therefore, imperative to create conducive opportunities to encourage
the engagement of private real estate developers in the housing industry.
While doing this, we should not lose sight of the role of the private sector to
build new houses and improve old homes.
It must be mentioned here that hundreds of people are struggling to build their
own dwellings and be their own masters against all odds.
There are also hundreds of thousands of dwellers living inside state owned
houses in limbo. Many houses are being demolished to make space for multi-storey
buildings to be occupied by either lucky residents or businessmen. Homeowners
remain undecided spectators. Potential buyers refrain from investing, preferring
the wait-and-see approach.
On the other hand, occupants of government houses wanting to own the houses in
which they live and improve them by taking out mortgage loans are left out in
the cold, because the City Administration has not yet decide the fate of these
residential houses. Apparently the administration finds it easier and more
convenient to construct new apartments and cast lots to decide potential owners.
But the task is not only time-consuming and frustrating, it also creates
loopholes for the thriving “lucky” ones who seize the opportunity to lease their
holdings at a rate enough to cover all their monthly expenses and even get some
extra profit.
Residents of smaller houses, meanwhile are marginalised and forced to dwell in
the deteriorating, substandard shelters with which they can do very little to
improve or upgrade to an acceptable level. Although disposition could lead to
the insensitive decision to auction, due consideration ought to be given to
those who can own their own homes instead of tampering with their right to
access habitable houses.
Building a residential house, however, takes more than just the basic
construction. Houses need to be made habitable. This takes quite a long period
of time.
A brother of mine built a ground level house plus one story (G+1) for renting in
the vicinity of Gourd Shola, opposite the telecommunications branch office
there. I was invited to attend the blessing ceremony of the house.
The party was made more pleasing by the rare occasion of a family get-together
over a rich table of a well spiced and barbecued lamb, buttered minced meat (kitfo),
and raw meat. It was also overflowing with bottled beer and tej (mead or
honey wine). Of course, such delicacies are often skipped and ignored by
patients living on a diet or nutritional prescription.
One of the guests happened to be a priest who kept trying to steal the
limelight. After a perpetuated lecture he made on the theme of blessing the
house, he was about to depart when he saw coffee beans being roasted. He changed
his mind and returned to his seat.
It is a bad omen to leave while black coffee is in the making, he said. He would
rather take his time and stay put until the coffee was made.
He told us stories of how travellers who had started their long journeys, unable
to be patient long enough until it was ready, had encountered accidents,
sometimes fatal ones.
The coffee girl brought the roasting coffee around the room so we could inhale
the aroma, extending the offer so everybody could enjoy the fragrance.
Meanwhile the priest seized the opportunity of his extended stay to make a brief
lecture about the accomplishment made by the owner of the house.
“My mother used to tell me that praying to God and constructing a house are both
lifetime engagements,” he said, “There is no easy way out; once you start it,
you have to see it finished, or you better not start it at all.” The priest
seemed to be losing his composure due to being a little drunk. Other members
wisely intervened and carried out the discussion in earnest.
What we were able to witness was only the completion of the first phase of the
building work which included the painting of the walls, windows and doors. The
final phase of decorating the rooms, furnishing the whole house, as well as
carrying out the external work, like clearing the castoffs, levelling and
filling the earth for the lawn, and planting tree seedlings and hedges, however,
was still to be done.
Decorating rooms not only requires a professional touch but also involves quite
a fortune. More often than not the decorating part is best left to the exclusive
discretion of the occupants, since turning a house into a home should be a
matter of taste.
Acquiring tools and gadgets like lawn mowers, plastic hoses, rakes,
wheelbarrows, ladders, shovels, pickaxes, hammers, chisels, saws, screwdrivers,
and the like cannot be sidelined. Maintenance and upkeep of the utility lines
are activities which are part and parcel of the construction work.
“Although we have celebrated today the blessing ceremony, we must not forget
that this is only the beginning. The priest seemed to murmur to himself, “Let
God bless the owner of this magnificent building and make it a house that serves
until eternity. God bless Ethiopia; goodnight everybody.” He slowly moved off
the premises, trying his best to look sober, and walked home swaying left and
right toward his own, old, blessed home, sweet home. |
