D
uring its five decades of operations, the National Housing Corporation (NHC) has gone through ten different Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Mr Shmitt, a Germany, was the first CEO to manage the corporation for eight years, from 1962 to 1970 when he handed the mantle to the first indigenous Director General (DG), Engineer James Kikenya, who reigned between 1971 and 1976. The third CEO, Mr Melkizedeck Msangi stayed at the helm for five years, between 1977 and 1982 while Mr Karata Mwemba, probably the DG who managed the corporation for the shortest period, headed NHC between 1983 and 1984. Mr Andrew Shitindi’s six-year stay at the country’s real estate management giant lasted between 1984 and 1990 when Mr Omar Mwinchande came for a three-year stint, from 1990 to 1993. The current DG of Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority, Mr Haruna Masebu, too had four years at the top of NHC between 1994 and 1998.
DGs recall their days at NHC 22
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The Late Mr Hamisi Sang’anya served at the corporation’s top post for a four-year term, from 1998 to 2002, before NHC’s indigenous DG with the longest term at the top, Mr Martin Madekwe, came in between 2002 and 2009. The incumbent DG, Mr Nehemia Mchechu, joined the corporation in 2010. The Daily News managed to catch up with some of the former NHC
top bosses to share their past moments at the public utility: JAMES 1976)
KIKENYA
(1971-
During colonial rule and soon after Tanzania gained her independence in 1961, majority people lacked decent shelter. So, the independent Tanganyika embarked on housing projects to build decent houses for its people. The establishment of NHC in August 1962 aimed at building low cost houses for sale or renting to low income earners. True, the corporation managed to build houses in almost all regions of Tanzania Mainland, first by demolishing the traditional mud and grass-thatched houses and later erecting better new houses in Dar es Salaam, Tabora and other regions. Come 1975, a total of 14,462 house were built. MARTIN MADEKWE (2002-2009) I headed NHC when it was in serious financial difficulties. The corporation’s rental earnings from its houses were at its lowest due to the peanut rent that tenants paid for the firm’s thousands of housing units, countrywide.
Luckily, the parliament repelled the oppressive Rent Restriction Act of 1984, allowing NHC to not only increase rent but also enforce payment. The corporation’s income started growing, enabling the firm to rehabilitate its houses, most of which were in dilapidated state. We were now able to build 213 new housing estates in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and Iringa regions. The high demand for low cost houses in the country builds a strong case for the government to empower the corporation towards meeting its ambitious goals. NEHEMIA KYANDO MCHECHU (2010 – TODATE) NHC is a strong public firm to reckon with, it boasts of strong operational base and high efficiency. NHC is getting huge government and parliamentary support as a gesture of the good work it is doing to avail ‘wananchi’ with decent and affordable houses through various schemes—tenant purchase, outright purchase, rental housing and rural and peri-urban housing loans. NHC employs various cadres of workers and has established units to facilitate its operations.
It wasn’t easy to either increase rent or even enforce payment of that little amount because the law favoured tenants, even rent defaulters.
NHC is eager to see as many people as possible living in apartments, sharing essential services like security of their areas and property.
NHC had to first get a court approval to either increase rental fee or evacuate defaulting tenants—it was indeed an uphill task to run the cash strapped corporation.
As we commemorate our golden jubilee, we aim at ensuring that NHC becomes the national mirror and hold high its esteem because it has the will and capacity to execute all that it plans.
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MANAGER 23