Is the Community Mortgage Program Propoor?

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The government established the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), which is administered by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), to enable informal settler families (ISFs) to purchase land by providing them with affordable financing. Loans are granted to community associations (CAs) where ISFs must belong to access the CMP. Given the government's significant subsidy to the program, has the CMP been able to address the needs of the poor and their communities? Results of the assessment show the equity requirements set by the SHFC prevented poor households from becoming program beneficiaries. As this could worsen with further increases in urban land price, this Policy Note recommends implementing an income-based subsidy scheme to prevent further exclusion of the poor. It also suggests making capacity building of the CAs an integral part of the CMP process.