A Dissertation Submitted in Partial/Fulfilment of the Requirements for Award
of the Degree of Master of Business Administration in Corporate Management
(MBA.CM) of Mzumbe University.
Tanzania like other developing nations in the world has weak housing finance
mechanism and property market. Nearly the entire urban housing stock has been
constructed by individual households through their own savings and loan
arrangements from their friends and relatives as the majority do not have access to
formal finance. Therefore, this study intended to explore the sustainability of the low
cost housing projects under PSPF. Specifically, the study aimed to; examine how
sustainable is the low cost housing project under PSPF; identify the factors that are
affecting low cost housing projects under PSPF, and establish ways of addressing
challenges facing low cost housing projects under PSPF.
The study used a case study research design with both qualitative and quantitative
approaches. The target population of this study includes 50 employees from
investment and estate departments who have information on the houses constructed by
the PSPF in the outskirt of Dar es Salaam city in an area called Buyuni, Chanika, within
Ilala Municipality. The purposive random sampling was used to select a sample size
of 44 respondents working with PSPF.
Findings revealed that the low cost housing project under PSPF was not affordable to
the targeted market. Findings also revealed that building materials, infrastructure and
housing, cost of land, and availability of land were the common factors affecting
sustainability of the low cost housing project under PSPF. Furthermore, findings show
that the rising of the cost of land, lack of government incentives, complex land
acquisition process, and high building materials cost were the major challenges facing
the low cost housing project under PSPF.
The study concludes that the low affordability of the low cost housing project under
PSPF to the targeted market was attributed by the housing reform that make houses
more expensive to low-income earners.
The study recommended that the government should assist the development of off-site
infrastructures, elimination of cultural barriers, use of locally available construction
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materials and the adoption of new technology. The financial sector also should offer
low-interest rates for building development to enable both building developers to
increase supply of low cost housing and the low-income earners to gain access to
mortgages.