Sep 24th 2013, 23:05, by Kingsley M. Theophilus
As President Goodluck Jonathan shops for a new Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, I wish to highlight some of the assignments which should be included in his/her job portfolio. First, he must bridge the gap between supply of and demand for housing in the country. There are estimated 18 million housing units deficit in Nigeria. This means that about 72 million Nigerians do not have decent housing accommodation – I am benchmarking on an average of four persons per housing unit. This should be a very big challenge to the new minister.
The new minister should tell Nigerians how many housing stock would be added to the nation's housing stock during his/her tenure. This will constitute the key performance indicator of his/ her tenure. How many people would he/ she target to relocate from slums to fairly decent accommodation?
Second, the new housing minister should come up with a plan on how to reposition the Federal Housing Authority, which the former minister acknowledged had failed to live up the expectations of Nigerians, for better performance. In the alternative, the minister may consider taking a bold step by asking the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to unbundle the agency and privatize it, while the ministry will concentrate on regulatory issues and creating the much desired enabling environment for private sector players.
Third, the recapitalization of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to reposition it for enhanced performance has become long overdue. The new minister will do well to see to it that this much talked about recapitalization is achieved very early during his/her tenure. In addition to recapitalization, the operation of the National Housing Fund (NHF) is also due for review in view of the importance of the fund toward mass housing development in Nigeria. There is need to make contributions to the fund compulsory and mandatory for both private and public sector workers and employers.
Fourth, incoming housing minister must address the issue of the absence of cheap long term funds in Nigeria for housing development as is the case in other countries. He/she should synergise with the minister for finance, CBN Governor and other stake holders to fashion out sustainable ways of attracting cheap long term funds from off shore and locally for housing development in Nigeria.
Fifth, he/she will also be expected to address the problems associated with land acquisition, ownership and transfer and registration of titles in Nigeria. The present procedures are not only very exorbitant, they are also cumbersome and time consuming. The minister should take active interest to fast track the ongoing review process of the Land Use Act.
Sixth, there are also no workable foreclosure laws in Nigeria as is the case with other countries. Mortgage banks and other financial institutions cannot easily foreclose and sell mortgaged properties without experiencing a nightmare. As we speak, there are cases that have lingered in our courts for many years while some have gone up to the Supreme Court. The new housing minister should regard this as one of the urgent deliverable on resumption of office.
There is the problem of high interest rates on mortgage and housing related lending; this could be addressed through long tenured funds at single digit interest rate. The minister should cooperate with the finance minister to ensure the success of the proposed $300m secondary mortgage facility as this will very well position the mortgage banks to have the capacity to create new mortgages that will support the public to purchase houses.
Other issues that needed to be addressed include high cost of building materials and absence of other building and housing models similar to what are obtainable in other countries. It is expected that the housing ministry will fund and encourage local research and development in this regard. The time has come for us to develop home grown building materials and housing models if the dream of building affordable houses is to be realized in Nigeria. The incidence of building collapse has assumed an alarming and embarrassing proportion in Nigeria. No effort should be spared to identify poorly built houses and pull them down early enough before they collapse and kill people.
The incidence of unplanned cities has become a bane in our urban development drive, while the rate of distortion of master plans by some few in positions of power has become very disgraceful. This must be tackled. Nigeria needs well developed and planned cities and layouts. Moreover, in our collective drive for mass housing selfless and credible Nigerians and institutions passionate about affordable housing development in Nigeria should be encouraged.
Nigerians expect a bold and courageous person for the position. May God give President Goodluck Jonathan the wisdom to appoint the right person.
Theophilus (FCIB, FCA), theophiluskingsley@ yahoo.com, is a mortgage banker and author
