On behalf of management and the entire Society, I wish to extend our sincere gratitude to you all for making the time come and celebrate with us, 50 years of existence of the Zambia National Building Society (ZNBS).
Allow me to give you a brief history of our journey as ZNBS. Our journey started on 24th December 1970 after the merger of three Private Building Societies. Our first Head Office was located at Permanent House Cairo Road. After the merger the key top positions were predominantly held by expatriates until Zambianisation set in and the first Zambian CEO, Mr. Godwin Y Mumba was appointed in January 1972.
In November 1987, the government approved the establishment of a Special Housing Fund to be used for housing programs for the low cost and medium cost. Effectively the scheme saw project being undertaken in the following towns; Kansenshi -ndola (54 units), Emmasdale- Lusaka (64units), Mongu (50units), Solwezi (50units), Kasama (50units), Mansa (50 units) and Chipata (90units). The scheme was dubbed “The Rural Housing Project”
Over the years the Society also funded the construction of other buildings such as Society House on Cairo Road in Lusaka in 1982 and ChaChaCha House in ChaChaCha Road Lusaka in 1978. These projects were undertaken both to provide affordable office space and also as investment property for the ZNBS.
Over the years, ZNBS has rendered financial support for major capital projects through provision of loans to parastatals and other companies both in urban and rural areas including for the construction of the now famous Mukuba Hotel in Ndola, construction of housing units by Kalabo district Council and a Shopping Complex in Chililabombwe purchased through a mortgage from ZNBS.
In 1996 ZNBS was brought under the supervision of Bank of Zambia pursuant to the provisions of the Banking and Financial Services Act, Cap 387 making the Bank of Zambia our Regulator.
The Banking side of business has continued to provide a variety of financial products to support the mortgage products. Services include but are not limited to Savings investments options, financial digital platforms, and Unsecured lending.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, We are pleased to inform you, that as a result of the various initiatives, The mortgage product, which is our core business has registered phenomenal growth. This has been made possible through strategic partnerships with land owners, Property developers, local authorities and providers affordable long term financing.
As we look back and note our achievements, our focus for the future is with renewed optimism despite the challenges that may lie ahead.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as you maybe aware, or Mission is the Provision of quality, affordable and sustainable mortgage finance, financial services and other allied services for the benefit of clients, stakeholders and the Society. Having been set up with the mandate of providing affordable housing finance, the true test of affordability is whether a low to middle income household can afford a mortgage. At the current cost of wholesale funds which are largely referenced to treasury bill rates, provision of an affordable mortgage remains a challenge. It therefore follows that in order to ensure that families are able to afford a home, specific policy initiatives must be undertaken to address the issue of affordability. We will therefore be calling on your office, Honorable Minister of Finance to support various initiatives aimed at instituting the provision of sustainable long term funds for the delivery of an affordable mortgage.
Further, In the quest to ensure that more Zambians are able to own a home, the Society embarked on partnering with local councils for the acquisition of land banks at no or minimal cost which can be used for the development of low to medium cost houses. The cost of bulk services however remains an inhibiting factor to the provision of affordable houses. Honorable Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development Sir, it is our sincere hope this matter can be addressed through the implementation the National Housing Policy, which was recently launched by your Ministry. As a Society, we remain committed to working with your Ministry for the successful implementation of the National Housing policy that is aimed at reducing the current housing deficit.
Looking into the future, ZNBS will continue to assert itself as a partner of choice for the provision of housing Finance solutions.
Allow me to take this opportunity to honor all our stakeholders in particular, the Shareholders, the Board of Directors, Our esteemed Customers our strategic partners, NAPSA, DBZ, The AFDB and Workers Compensation Fund Control Board for the continued support as the Society strives to attain its strategic mandate of providing affordable mortgage finance.
God Bless you all and enjoy the evening, I thank you.
