The Ownership Culture

Chamberlain S. Peterside contends that a pervasive evolving ownership culture is critical to unlocking Africa's potential "...As African countries continue to transform, a key element of their reform agenda should be to legitimize property rights and entrench ownership across the broad spectrum of society. So far the reverse is the case. Unbalanced income distribution has bred severe inequality and abject poverty in Africa...With a potential reserve of wealth hidden in real estate holdings in Africa, unless the laws are updated and home-ownership expanded through broad-based long-term loan programs, it is unlikely that you could nurture a robust middle class or make a serious dent in the living standard of the masses. Effective measures should include standardizing loan underwriting, packaging secondary market instruments and enhancing credit quality through government guarantees..."