Leadership 3: Being at the Right Place at the right time & doing something about it

Being at the Right Place at the right time .



Some will call it Luck, but i think it was the Lord's guiding hand. My Journey begun sometime in July 2000 when i was standing at the bust stop waiting for a minibus to take me back to Town to the office. I was on holiday (3rd year vacation) and i had a part time job in one of the estate agencies in Town. I had gone to view a Property in one of the Western Suburbs of the City. Waiting there at the bus stop, a car just stopped and well i was expecting a minibus and there it was and the driver was beckoning me to come. There was Nelson my former Secondary School mate. He told me he was working for an NGO dealing with Housing Issues. i was so intrigued because i had always been interested in Housing issues especially for the urban poor, and i had found the Topic for my Forth Year dissertation. I was studying for my BSc in Rural & Urban Planning.

The following day i visited their offices where i met Beth the Director, one of the Kindest woman i have met in my Life. Considering that i was just a mere student, she gave me space listened to me and i was convinced that i wanted to work with the urban poor and my topic would be in Housing The Urban Poor in Harare. I then spent so much time during my dissertation visiting their offices and communities where i was just my self. Being a rural girl, Urban poverty was new to me since i had only read about it, but i guess the people aspect and management thereof is what intrigued me. When i was finishing my final year in May 2001, Beth asked me to hang around with them after finishing my studies, as i had already informed her of my plans to join my husband in Malawi. I spent 7 months criss-crossing the country and learning as much as i could about how the urban poor could be a part of the situation. At the end of December 2001, we moved to Malawi.

I always look at this incidence, that had i not been at the Bus stop that day, how would my life have turned out. I believe i would have turned out ok, but i know that i would not have become the person i am today. I got the DNA of what i do today from the opportunity that was created by meeting Nelson and i am glad that i am one of the few who managed to have a career that is literally them. I always think and believe that had i not been doing what i do today i would not have been able to excel.

Preparing for these series is amazing for me, for i get a chance to reflect on what the Bible says on that particular issue. Today as i looked though what the bible says about Leadership and being in the right place at the right time, i found out that Nehemiah is one big example on how the Lord uses one when that person is in the right place at the right time. But that is not enough, the Lord expects you to be Right for him too. Thus you might actually be at the right place, at the right time, but you have to be Right in the eyes of the Lord, because the Lord only uses a clean Vessel. Nehemiah was not only right before God; but he recognizes he's in the right place, and it's the right time because the most powerful man on the face of the earth is the king of the Persian Empire and, oh, by the way, he just happens to be in the presence of the king every day of his life. Neh 1 Vs 1-11.

Effective leadership always requires the leader to be at the right place at the right time, and be able to use the opportunities availed by such a crossing point in their lives. Nehemiah, knew that he was right for the Lord, and only him had the kind of access to the King that will ensure he leads in the rebuilding of the City of Judah. The Lord used Him. There are several cases in the Bible where leadership was steered by being in the right place at the right time, and the David & Goliath Case is one case in point, where David was used by the Lord to turn the history of Israel around. The case of Saul, for the Lord needed a Jew to be able to reach out to the Gentiles, and Esther too was right for the Lord and at the right place too. I enjoyed the reflections by Dr. Woodrow Kroll, on Effective Leadership and the story of Nehemiah, and i have used excerpts from his radio program as posted on the backtothebible.org webpage.

I dont know about you, but its never written on the wall that this is a "This is it" moment seize it, but what is clear is that we should always be alert and utilise whatever the Lord provides for us. These are usually life changing circumstances for our lives, institutions we can never let our guards down. How many times have we gotten an opportunity that is not really an opportunity and only when we look back do we realise it was indeed an opportunity. I guess the essence is, always be ready to utilise whatever opportunities come knocking on your door.

Leadership Series 2: Vision

Vision
Leadership Series: 2


The first of the series on leadership was on Leading, since every other leadership trait has to follow leading. Picking up from the first issue, I believe the trait next in line is that of VISION. A Leader has to have vision for him or her to be an effective leader. The ability to see beyond today, beyond the current circumstances and being able to foresee the outcomes way before they occur is what defines a leader and many leaders do not live to see nor experience nor benefit from such acts. Pastor Bill Hybels best described Vision when he said “Vision is a picture of the future that stirs passion in you” On the other Hand Vision is not the Roadmap, goals etc it’s the reason we have goals and the road map in the first place.

As I was thinking through this important aspect of leadership, this quote from H. Ross Perot rang true, he said “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. In the end, leaders are much like eagles…they don’t flock; you find them one at a time.” The last sentence caught my eye because eagles have always been associated with Great leaders. Why is this so, its because eagles have always been known for their strong vision and sharp focus. Eagles have a keen vision, as their eyes are specially designed for long distance focus and clarity.

The eyesight of eagles is unparalled and as they grow older and their eyesights fade with cloudiness age, they are known to fly up towards the sun staring at it, the sun burns away all the cloudiness caused by age. Eagles are also known to be the only birds that don’t cower to shelter when it rains they fly up above the sky (using the storm’s wind to lift it higher). In both these 2 instances a leader does not let any obstacle come in the path of achieving the vision as set. The other major trait of an eagle is that they don’t flock, they just fly high up, just like leaders in real life they are so far apart we have to look for them.

Looking back into my path, I cant really pin point aspects of my work that I could say VISION stands out. I also think issues of the vision of a leader can only be looked at in retrospect, and God giving me life, I still have a lot of years to go, and only then will people look back and pin point the vision. I would want to use this opportunity to share with you some of the examples of visionary leadership that inspire me.

I will start with the person closest to me, my mom. As a primary school teacher she had a vision to see her children get the highest level of education against all odds. That vision has seen her succeed through her children as we have gone on to be who we are in our different lives. My husband, (and his broader clan) is where he is because of his uncle who a generation ago in the late 60s decided that only education will see the clan out of the poverty trap. Even though he never lived to see the fruits of the seed he planted, a generation later, the clan is totally transformed. This to me points out on one aspect of being a Visionary leader, it touches on every life of so many of us, its only when we look back that we appreciate that so and so was visionary because of the results that usually take generations to be felt or appreciated.

To the broader leaders, I will pick on Lee Kwan Yew, the first President of Singapore whose vision of a transformed Singapore was shared by the Singaporeans and today the Singapore we see is all because of his vision. Unfortunately his inability to let go once his vision had been achieved always blights his leadership. Martin Luther King is also another visionary leader who was able to share his vision with his people even though he never lived to see the results, the seed he had planted (through the “I have a dream” speech). Wangari Maathai is also one Visionary leader, who galvanized women and turned around the environmental sustainability of rural communities not only in her native Kenya but across Africa.

The Bible itself is another very good reference point for us on visionary leadership. Of all the leaders in the Bible, Joseph is one who best exemplifies a visionary leader. Hertz, Joseph H summarized Joseph’s leadership by saying that "He is the man of vision, the man of dreams; but to this he joins moral and spiritual strength in all the vicissitudes of life." This raises a point on how Visionary leadership alone is not enough if not combined with other aspects of leadership and good standing of a leader. The Lord commands us to be Visionary, and on Habakukk 2.2, the Lord instructs us to write the vision and make it plain so that people can see and understand it, as they will be instrumental in ensuring that the vision is implemented. Proverbs 29:18 is very iconic to me, and sums up the importance of visionary leadership, it states that where there is no vision people perish, and this can be assimilated to institutions as where there is no vision, the institution perishes.

As I sign off, I would only ask one Question, Who are the 5 most visionary leaders you know and why do you rank them highly.

Goodnight and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

1. LEADING

Leadership

I will be running through series some of the issues i have gone through and some of which i go through in my day to day work. The first post in my series will be on what it means to be a LEADER, and nothing beats LEADING, if you cant LEAD then you cant be a LEADER.



My first recollections on leading are when i was 9 (Grade 4) and we used to prepare Tea for the teachers Tea Break. Every week a set of 4 girls had a responsibility of preparing tea and would rotate until the end of the year, this meant one girl rushing to the shops (to buy fresh milk and bread), and the others remaining in the tea room arranging the chairs, making tea etc. At 9.30am if its your week of tea making you would be released from class and rush to the tea room. I remember one girl called Sihle came to me for instructions (on what had to be done) and another girl in our group was visibly not happy she said "why do you always, go to her, who chose her to be our leader". Sihle had no answer, i too had no answer on why people always came to me or why i ended up taking the lead.

As a Leader, (Appointed or self made) you have to lead. Thus taking action that will ensure that those whom you serve or look up to you get the direction on the next course of action. Leading should not be a conscious action that one takes but it should happen without even thinking and before you no it an action is done. Leadership can not be taught but maybe one can enhance their skills through mentoring and coaching. Leadership is the process of influencing others, but being a leader requires someone who has a vision, a drive and a commitment to achieve that vision, and the skills to make it happen. The main issue is that it has to matter enough to you for you to be a leader.

Going through years back the issue of leading, has occurred in so many instances but as I break it down to the points that make someone lead, the core issue that strikes a chord with me is the NEVER SAY NEVER spirit, turning impossibles into possibilities. The most memorable experience was in Vancouver (June 2006) at the World Urban Forum we had apparently taken a very wrong turn in down town Vancouver and found a Stadium. I was with 4 community leaders we had travelled with to the Forum, and I just said this is the way. You can imagine how it was trying to convince them that the underground route beneath the stadium will take us to the otherside of the block. The Relief on their faces once we got to the other side was amazing and still brings a smile. The responsibility that one carries on their shoulders is the ultimate for you as you carry the whole risk not just on your life but everyone with you. When leading, there is always a split second for you to make a decision, and you also have not much time to start calculating the risk as its always about the broader good.

Moving forward, I will try to go indepth with the various traits of a Leader and how I have struddled through them. The list is not exhaustive but i hope to touch on these issues: Honesty, Ability to inspire, Courage, Ambition, Fearlessness, Risk Taking, Optimism (Positive Attitude), Humility (& Respect), Patience, Commiting to Excellence rather than Perfection, Vision (& Focus), Tolerance, Commitment, Accountability, Gratitude, Intuition, Confidence, Decisive, Ability to delegate, Sense of Humor, Creativity, Passion, Persuasion abilities, Integrity, Compassion, Engagement, Empowering, Communicative, Genuine, Self Awareness, Supportive, Pro-active and many other traits. As I was writing down these points I realized that its going to be a very tough point of reflection for me as well since I want to walk through the paths walked over the past 11 years of Leading in one way or the other. I am also hoping this process also enhances my own capacities as I am still walking through the path of Leadership.

Have a blessed and fruitful week.

Members, buying already made bricks and making your own, which is most cost effective/cheaper?. If you have an idea please advice

mekn ur own z beta but a big tym consumer.
yeah time consuming and I can imagine not very easy these days i.e. finding firewood etc
esp the firewood yes. watch out the rains!!
yes indeed, right now isnt a good time with the rains about to come...

Modding of bricks its cheaper but currently u just need buy

and why is that James, because of the rain? Guys, do you save a substantial amount when u mold them yourself? say u mold 40,000 bricks, is the difference in expenditure a big one in comparison with buying 40,000 bricks...because if the difference is small then one might as well just buy and save themselves the trouble of molding...

let me lay it down 4 u just did abt 55,000, in my case, molding costed K00.50/brick, water costed K00.25/brick. the issue that determines the overall cost is the firewood. In my case i was late and the pple do kno that u ll buy what ever the case since u afraid to lose out when the rains come. In my case 50,000 bricks = makomo 4, i was told i needed 10 tonnes of F-wood, 1st quote i got was K21,000 for a 10 tonne + aganyu okadula + transport, i opted to move around and just buy already preped wood, well it was crazy found lots of 7 tonnes, got 2, 1st lot K13,500 (chilengedwe trees) + 2nd lot K11,500 (mango and malaina) + transport two trips K17,000.00. now building the damn uvuni, K7,500, kumanga jekete K3,000, kuotcha K800/khomo = K3,200.00. Overall 55,000 bricks ended costing me around 100 - 125 (K1.00 - K1.25/brick) grand factoring in my car Gas + airtime in supervising the whole job. now this is nt a true reflection since i was doing it ku mudzi heavy, in town pple will tell u just molding K1/brick thats ok as long as u negotiate kuti madzi akhale awo. what you should do is to factor in the current cost yogula in ur ares say K4/brick, then ur after zonse should be atleast 40% cheaper. coz if u ll move the brick to some location u ll have to add in atleast K1.5/brick as transport. In my case a brick costed me K1.25/brick if i factor in transport say @ K1.50 that will bring my total cost to K2.75 to my project site, while buying would cost me K3.50 + K1.50 transport = K5/brick. On the other hand if u have money its better to buy but u ll have to make sure that u r moving the brick in a truck minimu 7,000 bricks/trip since u ll save on transport if u move alot at once. eg, a sm1 is buying brick frm chiradzulu to nyambadwe, buying K2.5 transport K25,000/10,000 bricks (K2.5/brick) giving the total price to K5.00. personally i think its easy to mold since u wont have to have a lot of money when doing it amatapa heavy by the time u done u wont even realize u have spent 100 grand...good luck

if you have the funds ,just buy the bricks and start building.making
the bricks is time consurming.

wow, thanks alot Darlington for sharing your experience it helps alot!!!!! and thanks also Betty! I think now I can make an informed decision :)

u welcome!

Thats a serious breakdown Darlington Chimutu.

Thanks these are the discussions we hope to have in this discussion, that will not only inform but also assist people as they make decisisons, thanks Darlington Chimutu for this

perfect analysis thanks. If you have money and want to build in a hurry Villa you might wish to buy...i explored both options really wanted to mould koma nkhani ya diesel imanditopetsa. Also in town the cost is K1.50 - K2 per brick kuumba. I am gllad - very informative discussion.

is also cumbersome, and too involving!... kulongolola with those guys, you need to visit them now and then.. koma with the rains just buy. and do so now because zikwera mtengo very soon ndi mvulayi mitengo ikwera.

If you will mould them right on your plot You will save on transport. It is better to mould. If you have to mould them elsewhere and then transport to your plot, it is not very economic. Whether you buy or mould the difference to the whole project is minimal. The most expensive items on a house are cement, reinforcement and finishes.This is where you should spend energy on how to save.

We recently bot 60,000.00 bricks from St Theresa, Chiradzulu @ k1.90 per brick,transport was K20,000.00/ten thousand bricks.The cost of 1 brick was therefore K3.90 and total cost K234,000.00. The transport cost included aganyu wokweza ndi kutsitsa.koma anthu ambiri ku njerwako amakana kugulitsa njerwa zawo coz akufuna kukweza kuti zifike pa K3/brick.

I want to know if there is anybody who makes cement blocks. I would like to build mpanda using these

I dont know about blocks now with the increases in the cost of cement. And the issue of transporting Mchenga to site wont it cost just as much

In Kanengo there is a woman who makes these a Mrs Thombozi and inBlantyre at Chirimba Industrial Area there is a company can't just remember the name.

The last time I checked they were K10 each

Chabi's Construction has got the molds and capacity to mold concrete blocks. If you're creative, you can actually make the mold yourself. I recall one of my projects earlier this year (new Total filling station in Zomba) used only 3,000 blocks (1 bag of OPC mixed with quarry dust produced apprx 90 hollow blocks using mix of 1:10)for the entire building and it took 2 weeks to put up the walls. However, follow Engineer Greshom Sichinga's advice and "count the cost" of the whole project to see where substantial savings can be made. For those building houses, extensions, consider use of alternative walling materials e.g. cement sand blocks, stabilised soil blocks (SSB's). If you do chose to buy mold your own bricks and transport them to site, factor in 40% loss/breakages due to transportation and handling...

much as am not sure abt the cost in cement blocks, but the idea is great, faster and risk free. Plus guys, if we go cement blocks we go Green! I support the Motion. Its a go.

i wud also suggest that those that r close or work with Terrastone in Chirimba cud hav a beta idea, they mould these. Another guy hu can build a shopping mall without using a single *brick is Ian Sonke, the former MP. If anyone can cox this brain to ths platform we wil gain alot. #justanidea#

i think we should indeed look into concrete blocks, Washington U Chimuzu thanx man 4 the input i ll mos def look into this...

take note that kumanga cement and lime have also proved successful as alternatives to OPC in stabilized soil blocks (SSB's). Kumanga is cheaper than OPC and can actually be used in production of concrete blocks.

True that Washington. Will look for Jap he is on facebook

a very beneficial discussion guys, thanks alot!

Cool enough, remember your supervision in moulding the bricks costs you alot of productive time. I put it at 12.5% of the total cost...the only unfortunate thing is that we most of the times do not cost this element. However, moulding will give you an opportunity to come up with similar and properly sized bricks for yoor project. I'd prefer buying provided you are good at chosing the right qualuty bricks


You could also build the corners with Cement blocks and the space in between could be filled with a wall made of soil and cement( say 1:15) The structure will be quite safe if done properly. You can make your partitions with board and insulation which will allow you to modify the size of your rooms later.

This is a good discussion. I am looking for a plot in the NRC area and if I do get it, this analysis by Darlington will surely help in decision making when we start building. Thanks

can u get me in touch with Chabi Construction I m serious about the cement blocks The headache of buying Bricks and transport cost, loading and offloading, the costs pile up. My project is in LL around bunda turn off so everything has to around that area. I just need someone who has actually made those blocks to train my boys using the right mixture of sand quarry and cement

moulding your own is the best.. the size is bigger, no tpt cost bola nkhuni zokwanira basi

, am checking out the pamodziinvestment group, very impressive stuff!

I like this discussion. My observation, however, is that in the longterm, the one moulding is well-off. You have an opportunity to produce the type of brick you want. Have you ever compared the commercial bricks with the ones people do for their own use? 3 lines built with commercial bricks may be equal to 2 build with your own bricks. What does that tell you about cement consumption, time spent building e.t.c. I, therefore, insist that moulding has longterm advantages than buying.

, you can contact Chabi's Construction via chabiscon@globemw.net

Moulding bricks is very labour intensive. Bola kugula zopangapanga and you will ony buy the good ones. While when you mould your own you might run the risk ya oven osapsya or alot of breakages. In my view bola kugula.

Thanks for the info

Ladies and Gentlemen this is very informative..keep that info coming.

High rentals in Lilongwe

Finding a house in Lilongwe has become a nightmare, not only for people moving into the city but also for the residents. This is mainly due to the high rates of urbanisation the city is experiencing. There are other reasons that are fuelling the growth of the problem.

The reasons are numerous yet, the most pertinent one relates to the current Government’s decision to restore the capital city status to the City of Lilongwe, thus ensuring that all the Ministers and the President himself be operating from Capital Hill. This move alone meant that all the houses that were on the market were snapped up. Ordinary people like you and me started to compete with a landlord whose stature is government and that is no competition at all.

Following that, other companies like Zain have moved their headquarters to Lilongwe and their employees have to be guaranteed housing; they too compete for the house on the market and are able to support tenants who can manage 6 months upfront payments. International NGOs that were based in Blantyre like World Vision, Oxfam, and Habitat for Humanity have also moved to Lilongwe and this is also coupled by the growth of local NGOs (mostly headquartered in Lilongwe).
Over the past few years Malawi has had a few countries (France, Japan, and Iceland, amongst others) establishing their embassies and they are all based in Lilongwe, this is the same with several bi-lateral organisations who have also established offices in the capital. The growth of the economy has also created its own opportunities that have attracted entrepreneurs who are snapping up all the available homes and these include international citizens who now call Lilongwe home.

But that is just the demand side of the housing issue. Lilongwe City is a very young City having been declared as such in 1975, and has most of its suburbs and housing stock being developed in the 1970s and 80s under the stewardship of the Capital City Development Cooperation and the Malawi Housing Corporation. This is the time of the Area 18 ndidamanga fame and all the other recognisable suburbs were developed, and all this was done with the public servants in mind.
During this time, the Malawi Housing Cooperation and later the Lilongwe City Council was also opening up areas that are currently called the Traditional Housing Areas (THAs) where the poor could be housed at very low cost using traditional materials. Unfortunately, the pace of this kind of housing provision that was pub lic sector driven almost came to a halt in the late 1990’s when the Government embarked on the controversial home ownership scheme.

You might wonder why I’m calling it controversial. It’s because when Government decided to offload most of its housing stock to the sitting tenants, there was no programme whatsoever to go towards replacing such homes, thus supplying more homes into the market so as to meet demand. One might also say it’s not Government’s job to construct housing for its people. That is true; Government’s role is to facilitate the process. Unfortunately, the process of ensuring that serviced land is available to the populace has been very slow and when done, the job has been left halfway through, with people being allocated plots with neither roads nor any other essential service. This has not been conducive to the quick provision of housing that can meet the rising demand. A layman’s comparison of the housing status in the city of Lilongwe with that of Blantyre City, the number of suburbs in Blantyre is way more than that of Lilongwe yet the population is more or less the same.

There hasn’t been a paradigm shift on housing provision as we still expect a house to be on a plot. As land is finite, it is high time as a nation we started developing high rise buildings that will provide housing at a faster pace but also closer to the existing services. In the past few years, individuals have begun driving the process of house provision albeit at a very slow pace due to the challenges mainly revolving around failure to provide serviced land by the authorities especially the Department of Lands and the Malawi Housing Cooperation that have been tasked with providing land for the middle and high income bracket of the society. Before the astronomical rates of urbanisation, the Lilongwe City Council was ably providing plots to the poor in such areas as Chilinde, Area 25 amongst others and the poor were reached. With the high rates of urbanisation and demand for the plots by all sectors of the economy even the THA plots are now being invaded by the middle income (case in point being Area 25 Sector 3,). The people being ingenious as they are have also found ways of housing themselves and the solution has been found outside the formal housing areas and this is mainly in the outskirts of the city. This is working for both the rich and the poor. We now have slums for the poor and those for the rich in the City of Lilongwe and that has formed a ring around the city and for the rich the concentration is along the major highways especially the Lilongwe to Blantyre route and the Mchinji Road. In this area multi-million dollar homes have been constructed on mainly communal lands where the villagers in these areas have sold off their fields for very little only to realise that they sold the golden geese.

For the poor though, traditional areas like Mtandile, Mbayani, and Chinsapo remain popular for housing provision and the midhadhas in the THAs continue to provide housing for the multitudes.

Housing crises for the urban poor in Malawi

(This is a re-post about to close the other blog)

Thursday, June 14, 2007
Housing crises for the urban poor in Malawi

Malawi is one of the highest urbanising countries in the world but with very little on the ground to alleviate the plight of the thousands of new immigrants into the cities and towns of Malawi such that the bulk of the people are living in deplorable condititons and the conditions are worsening. I guess someone could say that this is a phenomenon that is happening throughout the world but i guess around the world is urbanised whilst Malawi is not. It means that everything that can go haywire will, with informal settlements growing at huge rates and the slightly better off following on these people and displacing them, we are calling it salient evictions whilst the planners and the other professionals call it gentrification. If one was to look at the developments happening in Mchesi, 25, Kawale, Biwi etc the poor are definately on the move, to where, no one knows i guess there is need for a study on this but who would institute such a study, seems as if no one really cares anyway back to the issue, currently an average of 12 househols stay in one plot and when the landlord sales off the plot to a low middle income family (usually working with the Bank or kufodya (tobacco) they build one family home usually 3 bedrooms (mes) with a single quarters thus qualitatively 2 households displaces 12. The major problem is that most of these neighbourhoods are in close proximity to the sources of employment where people simply walk to work. As this is happening there are very few legal areas that are coming up for the poor to move to, very few though go back home as the bulk start renting usually in other low income communities. These issues are not just confined to Lilongwe, its throughout the country in all the cities, towns and small centres and as many more people move into the urban setting the problems are geared to get worse.

Its not all gloom though as the Malawi government is currently one of the most receptive in the SS region as it wants to be pro-active but i guess all the parameters are not in place for this to start making a difference especially for the people who have been waiting for over 43 years since Kamuzu Banda put shelter as one of the 3 basic needs that his people needed.

There is more though that can be done, but at this rate the problem far outweighs the solutions and if one was to look at countries with relatively bigger economies like Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa struggling with the housing problems one shudders on the thoughts of what will happen in Malawi where the problem is expected to be bigger and the poverty conditions to be worser.

To Buy or to Rent

The demand for housing in Malawi continues to outstrip of its supply. There is a need for at least 21,000 housing units per annum but the supply is far below that. Consequently, house rentals are soaring way more than the mortgage premiums.
Most families are obviously contemplating on buying so as to convert the rentals into assets but they are scared of a loan. I have heard countless times that ‘tikuwopa ngongole, tikazalephela kubweza, atilanda nyumba’. But these fears aren’t just out of the blues; in the 90s and early 2000s Banks repossessed people’s homes due to failure to adhere to mortgage requirements. As the rentals have sky-rocketed even those who can afford to repay the loans are finding themselves paying more in monthly rentals than they would have if paying their monthly mortgage premiums.

But as Frankllin Delano Roosevelt, the president who took USA through the turbulent waters of the Great Depression used to say, there is nothing to fear. Families have to consider the rentals they are currently paying, and cross check on the amounts the houses in a similar neighbourhood are being sold for. This can be done through Estate Agents or cross checking with the newspapers on the classified ads.

For example, houses in Area 18B in Lilongwe are currently being sold for around MK9,000,000 and if you were to get a loan from the Bank then your family needs a minimum of 10% (MK900,000) and for a 20 year loan you have to pay a minimum of MK118,000 with monthly insurance premiums being added as well. This assumes a base lending rate of 17%, assuming some of the Banks also reduce their rate by 2% following the reduction by the Reserve Bank.

As the rentals for an ordinary area 18B house are around MK70,000 per month as a family you might need to either spend more on paying for your house or consider purchasing a house in another neighbourhood. For example houses in Gulliver, Lilongwe, are currently selling at an average of MK5,500,000 and the expected monthly premium is at MK 72,500 after deducting the 10% deposit and excluding the insurance payments. In that case, your family might decide to move out of Area 18B and purchase a house in Gulliver and pay exactly the same rentals as monthly repayments for the mortgage. Google searches can provides good mortgage calculators to help in your decision making process.

Most mortgage lenders in the country (most of the banks now have a mortgage facility) would want to know about your financial history. This is not just your pay slip for the past six months but your bank statements where most of your income is directed as they will use this as the basis of your application. Some of the lending agencies will only consider you only if you have banked with them for the past 6 months. This of course is unrealistic. Fortunately, with the multiplicity of agencies offering this service, that requirement might be lifted. Some of the banks might consider combined incomes, for example if you and your spouse are working, they will combine your incomes so as to determine if you can be eligible for the amount your family is applying for.
Wanting to purchase a house is one thing, but you have to brace for a fight.. There are very few houses on the market and many buyers, and with the advent of more banks offering mortgage more people can manage to buy through a loan. Some Landlords do not want to wait for you as you process your mortgage, they would rather sell their house to someone who can pay cash or the one who can pay a bigger deposit. This means you have to start saving not only for the 10% the bank will not give you but for the other amount your landlord might request, some go as far up as 50%, and this leaves out so many families out of the buying market.

As can be noted, buying a house only makes sense if you were to pay the same amount towards repayment or if as a family you can top up and pay more in repayments. The advantage with purchasing your own home is that every little investment you make into the house as you turn it into a home, counts and will add towards the appreciated value of that particular house. Whereas, when renting you are always wary of the water bills. As the lawn gets green, you worry that once your landlord sees the improved home he/she will increase the rentals. As mentioned above the downside with mortgage is that you have to pay your premiums as per the dotted line of the contract as you cannot talk about the funeral or problems you might or might not be having as we always do with the landlord and living in fear kuti nyumba atilanda is real as well.