The Nation Newspaper

Category: Building & Properties

  • Nigeria, 59 others ratify Paris Agreement on climate change

    Nigeria, 59 others ratify Paris Agreement on climate change

    Sixty countries which account for 47.6 per cent global emissions have ratified the Paris Agreement, ahead of the timeline to reach the threshold on emissions.

    At a high-level ceremony, which  brought together countries to ratify the agreement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and US Secretary of State John Kerry, last Tuesday, expressed optimism that the Paris Agreement would come into force this year.

    The Climate Action Network (CAN), a Beirut, Lebanon-based netwok of over 1100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in more than 120 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically-sustainable levels,   welcomed the progress on the ratification, and called upon other countries to ratify the agreement soon to reach the threshold on emissions and allow the historic deal to preserve the planet for future generations come into force.

    CAN International Director Mr. Wael Hmaidan said the Paris Agreement was only a beginning to building international consensus to fight climate change. He said the fight required every country, city, business and citizen to do all they can, as quickly as they can, to scale-down the pace of, and ultimately halt, climate change.

    “The prospect of this agreement coming into force in just a year, makes it a clear signal that there is absolutely no time to waste, meaning that its implementation must begin in earnest. The announcement marks a major tipping point in our planet’s history. Countries have come together at an unprecedented and historic rate to continue the progress the world made in Paris last year, and we applaud the collective global leadership that has driven us to this moment.

    “With the Paris Agreement’s imminent entry into force on the horizon, we wholeheartedly look forward to doing our part to continue the work toward a thriving clean energy economy, a stable climate, and a healthy planet,” said Sierra Club’s Executive Director, Michael Brune.

    But ratification is not enough, some stakeholders argued, insisting that governments, in particular, from the most powerful countries, needed to cut emissions quickly in light of the 1.5 degrees C limit.

    “More resources are needed to help the most vulnerable women, men, girls and boys build their resilience to climate impacts and disasters, and protect those displaced from climate loss and damage, an increasing harm recognised at this week’s UN Refugee summit,” said Sven Harmeling CARE International

    “World leaders have kick-started efforts in the ever-increasing battle against climate change, but we are still further than we had hoped we would be today.  Early entry into force of the Agreement less than a year since Paris would have been an important signal and step forward to protect the lives of millions of people around the world.

    “European countries’ failure to ratify today (Tuesday) is a dent in the climate leadership it has prided itself on previously.  The EU must now swiftly agree to ratification. And in order to reclaim its role as a true climate leader it must take early action, before 2020, to ensure that keeping the world below 1.5C degree warming is not an elusive dream,” said Adriano Campolina, ActionAid Chief Executive

    The Director of Strategy and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Alden Meyer, said it is heart warming that the announcement that the Paris Agreement will take effect this year is good news for the planet, and also underscores the growing momentum for climate action.   But much work remains ahead on both implementing and raising the ambition of countries’ emissions reduction commitments, if the Paris goal of net zero global warming emissions by mid-century and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, has to be sacrosanct.

    The Team Leader, International Climate Policy, Germanwatch, Lutz Weischer, saw the ratification of the Paris Agreement by 60 countries as a “very clear signal that the world was serious about climate action”.

    “What worries us is that Europe and Germany are now at risk of being left behind in the transition to a decarbonized world economy, after years of investment in climate solutions. We call on Germany and the EU to ratify the Paris Agreement and deposit their instruments with the UN in the next few weeks. To regain ground in the decarbonisation race, Chancellor Merkel also needs to significantly improve the draft 2050 climate plan her government is currently debating – right now, Germany is not on track to meet its Paris commitments,” Weischer said.

    He said the pace at which countries are joining the Paris agreement brings it significantly closer to entering into force, yet there remains a massive gap between what the agreement calls for and what world governments are actually doing to meet these targets.

    The Executive Director, 350.org, May Boeve, said the last 16 months have been the hottest in history, with 2016 shaping up to be the hottest year on record. “Around the world, there is a powerful and growing fossil fuel resistance movement that is pushing our institutions and governments to divest and break free from fossil fuels to prioritise people and planet,” he said, adding that the ratification announcements injected more momentum into the Paris Agreement and were important steps towards getting real action to start.

  • Eko Atlantic to become West Africa’s financial hub

    Eko Atlantic to become West Africa’s financial hub

    The Eko Atlantic City will accommodate the headquarters of the sub-region’s leading banks, financial institutions and international corporations, its developers have said.

    According to the developers, South Energyx Nigeria Limited (SENL), a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, a part of the smart city has been reserved for the development of a business district. The district will be 650,000 square metres and will feature the Eko Boulevard, a two-kilometre long, 60 metre wide central boulevard similar in size and look to New York’s Fifth Avenue and Paris’ Champs-Élysées.

    Last week, while conducting a business delegation from the United Kingdom round the city, the Development Director, South Energyx Nigeria Limited, Mr. Pierre Edde, said the district was designed to host many headquarters of companies in Nigeria.

    “The Eko Atlantic City Business District is a strategic and prestigious location for offices, with a state-of-the-art 24/7 infrastructure network, including 21st Century communications, smooth transport system and uninterrupted electricity, making it a compelling place to work,” Edde said, explaining further that upon completion, Eko Atlantic would be home to 500,000 residents with an expected commuter volume in excess 300,000 people daily.

    One of the delegates, Akin Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AKD Solutions Limited, described Eko Atlantic City as an amazing project, commending the developers for their commitment to Nigeria’s economic development.

    Another delegate, Eisen Chok, Director, Synergict Connect Limited, expressed delight at the progress of  the project.

    Head of Sales and Marketing, Chris Joe Energy, Fatai Amoo, said he was impressed with the vision behind the Eko Atlantic project.

    “This project is indeed, revolutionary and the innovative approach used to construct such city is a true testimony to future human habitat development not only in Lagos, Nigeria, but across the globe,” he said.

    He also praised South Energyx Nigeria Limited’s unique waste disposal management strategy, saying that’s how waste management should be handled in futurist cities and developments.

    Eko Atlantic City is a new city being built from reclaimed land on the Lagos Atlantic Ocean, Bar Beach, on Victoria Island.

  • 60 countries ratify Paris Agreement, to tackle emissions

    Sixty countries which account for 47.6 per cent global emissions have ratified the Paris Agreement, ahead of the timeline to reach the threshold on emissions.

    At a high-level ceremony, which  brought together countries to ratify the agreement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and US Secretary of State John Kerry, last Tuesday, expressed optimism that the Paris Agreement would come into force this year.

    The Climate Action Network (CAN), a Beirut, Lebanon-based netwok of over 1100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in more than 120 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically-sustainable levels,   welcomed the progress on the ratification, and called upon other countries to ratify the agreement soon to reach the threshold on emissions and allow the historic deal to preserve the planet for future generations come into force.

    CAN International Director Mr. Wael Hmaidan said the Paris Agreement was only a beginning to building international consensus to fight climate change. He said the fight required every country, city, business and citizen to do all they can, as quickly as they can, to scale-down the pace of, and ultimately halt, climate change.

    “The prospect of this agreement coming into force in just a year, makes it a clear signal that there is absolutely no time to waste, meaning that its implementation must begin in earnest. The announcement marks a major tipping point in our planet’s history. Countries have come together at an unprecedented and historic rate to continue the progress the world made in Paris last year, and we applaud the collective global leadership that has driven us to this moment.

    “With the Paris Agreement’s imminent entry into force on the horizon, we wholeheartedly look forward to doing our part to continue the work toward a thriving clean energy economy, a stable climate, and a healthy planet,” said Sierra Club’s Executive Director, Michael Brune.

    But ratification is not enough, some stakeholders argued, insisting that governments, in particular, from the most powerful countries, needed to cut emissions quickly in light of the 1.5 degrees C limit.

    “More resources are needed to help the most vulnerable women, men, girls and boys build their resilience to climate impacts and disasters, and protect those displaced from climate loss and damage, an increasing harm recognised at this week’s UN Refugee summit,” said Sven Harmeling CARE International

    “World leaders have kick-started efforts in the ever-increasing battle against climate change, but we are still further than we had hoped we would be today.  Early entry into force of the Agreement less than a year since Paris would have been an important signal and step forward to protect the lives of millions of people around the world.

    “European countries’ failure to ratify today (Tuesday) is a dent in the climate leadership it has prided itself on previously.  The EU must now swiftly agree to ratification. And in order to reclaim its role as a true climate leader it must take early action, before 2020, to ensure that keeping the world below 1.5C degree warming is not an elusive dream,” said Adriano Campolina, ActionAid Chief Executive

    The Director of Strategy and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Alden Meyer, said it is heart warming that the announcement that the Paris Agreement will take effect this year is good news for the planet, and also underscores the growing momentum for climate action.   But much work remains ahead on both implementing and raising the ambition of countries’ emissions reduction commitments, if the Paris goal of net zero global warming emissions by mid-century and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, has to be sacrosanct.

    The Team Leader, International Climate Policy, Germanwatch, Lutz Weischer, saw the ratification of the Paris Agreement by 60 countries as a “very clear signal that the world was serious about climate action”.

    “What worries us is that Europe and Germany are now at risk of being left behind in the transition to a decarbonized world economy, after years of investment in climate solutions. We call on Germany and the EU to ratify the Paris Agreement and deposit their instruments with the UN in the next few weeks. To regain ground in the decarbonisation race, Chancellor Merkel also needs to significantly improve the draft 2050 climate plan her government is currently debating – right now, Germany is not on track to meet its Paris commitments,” Weischer said.

    He said the pace at which countries are joining the Paris agreement brings it significantly closer to entering into force, yet there remains a massive gap between what the agreement calls for and what world governments are actually doing to meet these targets.

    The Executive Director, 350.org, May Boeve, said the last 16 months have been the hottest in history, with 2016 shaping up to be the hottest year on record. “Around the world, there is a powerful and growing fossil fuel resistance movement that is pushing our institutions and governments to divest and break free from fossil fuels to prioritise people and planet,” he said, adding that the ratification announcements injected more momentum into the Paris Agreement and were important steps towards getting real action to start.

  • Glut in real estate presents investment opportunities – Report

    Glut in real estate presents investment opportunities – Report

    CLUTTONS, a firm of international real estate consultants, has noted that there is an overall slowdown of activities in Lagos’ commercial real estate market, with rents either stagnating or declining across most segments of the sector. Cluttons’ Spring 2016 Lagos Commercial Property Market Outlook report attributed the weakness to the adverse global and domestic economic environment, which is fuelling and challenging trading conditions.

    According to Faisal Durrani, Head of Research and Partner at Cluttons, “the decline in crude oil revenue has taken its toll on all business segments, mirroring what we have seen in other parts of the world. Perhaps, most significant, however, has been the devaluation of the Naira, which is supporting the high levels of inflation. In addition, the restrictions around foreign currency exchange in Nigeria have put international businesses under tremendous pressure as they struggle to cope with the inability to make payments.

    “Furthermore, the deteriorating global economic conditions have also impacted Lagos’ commercial real estate market, with transaction levels dipping and vacancy rates rising across the board, putting rents under downward pressure and driving landlords towards offering a range of lease incentives to entice demand.”

    The Chief Executive Officer of Cluttons Nigeria, Erejuwa Gbadebo, said the most expensive office sub-market at the end of first quarter was Ikoyi at the rate of $850 per square metre, followed by Victoria Island at the rate of $750 per square metre.

    He added that while there has been limited movement in office rents over the past six to nine months, Victoria Island is among the three worst performing markets in the 12 months to the end of March 2016, with rents falling by 13 per cent to $750 per square metre, while Q1 2016 recorded no change in rents in all seven of the firm’s sub-markets.

    According to him, “Cluttons expects more significant falls this year, reflecting the shrinking level of overall occupier activity. In fact, on an annualised basis, rents in Ikoyi have already declined by seven per cent in the last 12 months to $850 per square metre, while Lagos Island has registered a substantial 25 per cent reduction in asking rates over the same period ($113 psm).

    “This is largely due to the strong pipeline of office supply. In fact, Cluttons expects that some 35,000 square metres of space will be added in Ikoyi and the VI, led by the completion of The Wings and Madina Tower,” Gbadebo noted.

    He said there are challenges ahead for the market, but there are clear opportunities for landlords to position themselves favourably.

    Based on the firm’s experience in other similar international markets, a well maintained and well managed properties will always be in high demand and it is the landlords that demonstrate an understanding of market conditions by offering flexible payment terms and other lease incentives that will be best placed when demand does pick up again.

    “Cluttons’ report explains that rents in the retail sector appear to have held steady, despite the economic conditions and tough operating environment. Many retailers have committed to existing leases with built in escalations, hence no real change in rents will be immediately evident in the city’s key shopping malls.

    “Having said that, we are aware of instances where landlords have reduced rates to help retailers stay profitable in the tough trading environment. For lease renewals in existing malls and the new malls coming up, however, it is likely to be quite a different story. We expect to see some falls in rents this year, reflecting the tough operating conditions for retailers.”

    Cluttons also identified a growing trend in the retail sector with an increase in provision of smaller formal retail centres with gross leasable areas of 5,000 square metres or less.

  • ‘Political will needed for environmental sustainability’

    The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has called for political will on the part of Nigerian leaders in the implementation of resolutions and decisions adopted by the United Nations, especially as they affect the environment. He regretted that some of the previous agreements signed on environmental issues were never implemented.

    Saraki, who spoke while receiving a delegation of the Working Group on Environmental Audit of African Organisation of the Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI WGEA) to the National Assembly, acknowledged that some of the issues already highlighted remained to be implemented due to absence of appropriate political will by leaders.

    “We need to ask who is making sure that they are being implemented. By the time we leave all those conferences as politicians, we shake hands with ourselves, we take pictures, but the real issues remain; are these commitments ever implemented?” he asked.

    Commending the Group for their initiative on the environment, the Senate President assured that it would play a key role in ensuring that some of the environmental policies and solutions that have been put aside were addressed.

    His words: “We don’t need to wait every 10 years for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to do reports. Groups like this, can keep us constantly on our toes and I appreciate the fact that the Auditor-General have also decided to identify ways, apart from your core mandate, of addressing the issues of environment.”

    Leader of the delegation, Mrs. Mbah Acha Rose Fomundam, said the organisation was mandated to contribute to the understanding of some specific issues linked to environmental auditing, facilitate the exchange of information and experiences among Supreme Audit Institutions.

    She added that the body had the mandate to improve standards and tools for environmental audit, including dissemination of guidelines and other current materials on the environment.

    According to her, the theme of this year’s Group meeting hosted in Nigeria was: “Working together for a sustainable and healthy environment in Africa”, pointing out that the theme called global citizens to respect the environment, the common heritage without which no life was possible.

    She noted that environmental sustainability has become a global challenge, synonymous to responsibility towards future generations. She, however, expressed confidence that through many initiatives, conferences and summits, world leaders came to the understanding that the natural resources of the earth were not unlimited.”

  • Many policies, no houses

    Many policies, no houses

     Nigeria’s housing deficit was seven million in 1991. It rose to 12 million in 2007 and 14 million in 2010. It is put at 17 million today. How can this problem be solved? MUYIWA LUCAS asks.

    FROM seven million in 1991, the country’s housing deficit rose to 12 million in 2007 and 14 million in 2010. It stands at 17million today.

    Although the federal and state governments  regularly come up with policies to tackle the problem, there has been no headway. Daily, the citizens appear to be losing faith in the policies, which in most cases have remained only on paper.

    To address the problem, former Lands, Housing and Urban Development Minister Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, devised a roadmap for the sector. This, it was hoped, would give effect to the National Housing Policy and the National Urban Development Policy. This policy includes the restructuring of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) for the efficient discharge of its mandate; supporting the implementation of the mortgage liquidity facility through the operationalisation of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), and the recapitalisation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

    With the recapitalisation of the FMBN, a new product targeting the provision of housing finance estimated to be of benefit to 17 million Nigerians in Diaspora was to be developed by the mortgage institution. This scheme will target one million Nigerians within the first year of the launch of the “Nigerians in Diaspora Mortgage Scheme” and provide $100 million (at $100 per person yearly) to FMBN as monthly contributions.

    Another product the recapitalisation will give birth to is the opportunity for Nigerians to own a home on a “Rent-To-Own” basis. Under this scheme, rents paid by occupants of a house will be converted to mortgage and when the amount for the house has been paid up, the occupant becomes the owner. This does not involve any initial deposit for the house.

    The restructuring will also make the institution attractive to international lenders, whose credit line facilities are needed to enable the FMBN achieve greater feat in the country’s housing sector. The FMBN is also to engage with key partners, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Ministry of Finance and international development partners to address its challenges and explore opportunities for intervention funding for social housing aimed at redressing the national housing deficit.

    Still, the ministry also planned an adoption of various housing delivery models for mass housing development. This will include new towns development, cooperative housing, public-private partnership, public-public partnership, regeneration, including completion of abandoned houses rental housing and sites and services schemes.

    To make this achievable, Eyakenyi revealed that the Federal Government, through the ministry, had put in place a social and affordable housing scheme. Under this scheme, estate developers are being enjoined to embrace the concept of mixed development in housing delivery and also ensure that at least, 20 per cent of the total number of housing units built in project sites are allocated to low-cost housing ranging between N1.5 million to N5 million for one to three bedroom houses. Moreover, she said the ministry was also in collaboration with domestic producers for the supply of building materials to estate developers at factory prices.

    Her successor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, also assured that the priority of the government would be to complete on-going projects, adding that the Ministry would then get land from the governors and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to start the housing development across the country using the LagosHoms model, starting with 40 blocks of housing in each state and the FCT.

    “We expect governors to play critical roles here, by providing land of between five-10 hectares for a start, with title documents, and access roads, or in lieu of access roads, a commitment that they will build the access roads by the time the houses are completed. We see this leading to potential delivery of 12 flats (homes) per block and 480 flats (homes) per state, and 17,760 flats (homes) nationwide, for a start,” he said.

    More recently, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, at the Annual Conference and General Meeting of the African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF), in Abuja, announced plans by the administration to launch a new housing finance initiative.

    Under the proposed scheme, the Federal Government is planning a mortgage system that will catalyse the development of the mortgage market with the provision of single digit interest rate mortgages and longer repayment periods, such as 20 years. The proposed scheme also aims to provide 300,000 affordable homes supported by mortgages and creates 700,000 new jobs across a range of disciplines and professions.

    Adeosun said Nigeria was ripe for radical intervention in the provision of housing, explaining that innovative financial solutions that will stimulate housing development, related industries, create jobs across the nation and satisfy yearning for security through home ownership, would do a lot in this regard.

    “Nigeria deserves to acquire affordable homes, built to a standard of good quality, located in well serviced estates that will create ideal environments in which they can raise their families, instead of being saddled with the challenges and risks of trying to build their homes organically. Due to the high rates of interest, we believe that the government’s intervention to bring down rates and enhance affordability is needed and we are committed to doing this,” the minister said through her representative, Mr. Seye Senfuye, at the AUHF summit.

    But stakeholders are losing hope in the several policies of government, which has either been left unimplemented or coming at very slow pace. This feeling is strengthened by the startling statistics even from government organs that are supposed to champion the course.

    Going by figures released in 2014 by the ministry, the government’s parastatal in four years (2010-2014) built 43,126 housing units nationwide. A breakdown of this figure showed that 710 housing units were built under the Prototype Housing Scheme; 7,869 housing units under the Public-Private Partnership; 3,302 units through the Federal Housing Authority (FHA); 5,007 units from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN); 17, 240 through estate development loans provided by FMBN, and 8,998 units through contractor finance initiatives.

    The ministry also generated N8.11billion. With an estimated yearly national population growth rate of just over two per cent, and an yearly urban population growth rate of about four per cent, Nigeria has a population that is becoming more and more skewed to the urban areas, towns and cities.

    A World Bank study projects that the cost of bridging this housing deficit is N59.5 trillion, indicating the untapped investment of Nigeria’s real estate sector. The housing and construction sector accounts for only 3.1 per cent of the GDP while the total housing production is at about 100,000 units per year, for a country of nearly 174 million. Therefore, it is estimated that at least, about 700,000 additional units each year to have a chance of bridging this huge gap.

    At a 2014 housing sector roadmap validation summit in Abuja, one point agreed on by participants was that the country is not short of having good plans, but implementation of such plans remains the problem.

    Prof Bade Falade, a former United Nations (UN) Habitat Representative in Nigeria, reckoned that the roadmap is a measure of filling a long gap in the operation of the Fministry.

    “There is a need for proper planning. In the UN that I come from, there is always a five- year plan. So, with the ministry putting in place two robust policies – national housing policy and urban development policy, then we are on course. Nigeria became the first African country to have a housing policy in 1981. Others came to borrow from us,” he told The Nation, regretting that the country achieved nothing with the 1981 policy until it lapsed.

    The roadmap draft seeks to achieve nine strategic goals. They  include the yearly provision of one million housing units over the next 10 years to enable the country tackle the housing deficit in the country headlong. The housing units are to be delivered by the government and the private sector. The private sector is to deliver 800, 000 units and the remaining 200, 000 by the government. till date, no agency has delivered 300, 000 housing units in a year. The strategy to achieve th feat will include collaboration with the Ministry of finance to promote a private sector-led housing and infrastructure fund institution; collaboration with the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) to promote group mortgage as a strategy to ease access to housing for household not currently qualified for individual mortgages; and promotion of local production of high quality critical building materials. The agencies to actualise these goals include the Federal Ministry of Finance, Stock Exchange Commission (SEC), state ministry of housing and urban development, developers, insurance firms, international development partners, and financial institutions.

    But such efforts are yet to have the desired effect. Laudable as these feats are, stakeholders are concerned that Nigerians are yet to feel the full impact, at least, going by the high demand for accommodation and the high cost of rents. They fear that the policies may be all talks and no results. Industry sources say that the roadmap, expected to drive housing and urban development in the country for the next 30 years, appears to have been jettisoned. This is because salient issues affecting the delivery of houses have remained unresolved.

    Prominent in the Act, which several stakeholders have blamed as constituting a clog in the desire to have an efficient housing finance system, bureaucracy, high cost of building materials, among others.

    This is because despite several efforts by the government, through its mortgage institutions to encourage or improve on housing finance, its own policy on the Land Use Act, has remained its albatross in achieving this goal. Stakeholders insist that except a review is done on the Act, the problem of housing finance would linger.

    The Act, promulgated in 1978, was to allow the government access to land for development. This was because in the past, land owners proved to be a hinderance to government’s developmental plans as they constituted bottlenecks; therefore, the creation of this Act vested land ownership in government, and also made it easier for government to lay claim to land ownership in order to develop the country and create infrastructure.

    But Nigerian Institute of Surveyors (NIS) President, Mr. Akinloye Oyegbola, argued that the problem with the law enacted in 1977 lies with its operators and not the legislation. He explained that it would be difficult for a land owner to embrace the Land Use Act.

  • Govt adopts four-step approach to bridge housing gap

    Govt adopts four-step approach to bridge housing gap

    The Federal Government has adopted a four-step approach to solving the housing problem in the country.

    The first step will entail the designing of houses to suit cultural and climatic differences.

    Under the step, the Federal Ministry of Lands and Housing has settled for six designs, which have  also been classified into two, the designs consist bungalows in the North and blocks of flats in the South.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, told the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, that the next step was to standardise those designs, which he explained had been accomplished by local capacity. The second step, according to him, is building industrially, while the third step is reducing construction time. The government, he said, would use local capacity to leverage on international capacity to achieve that.

    The fourth step, Fashola said, was to provide fittings locally; adding that the ministry had resolved to use only made in Nigeria windows, doors, tiles, ceilings, plumbing accessories, cables, paint and iron-mongery. He said it was on the fourth step that the ministry hoped to receive the support of local builders, artisans and tradesmen in capacity building.

    By these steps, he said the administration was providing an opportunity for professionals, artisans and tradesmen in the built environment to show what they could do and build capacity while building Nigeria.

    He disagreed with the view that the nation’s built environment and artisanal capacities were dominated by foreigners, especially West Africans, arguing that the influx of artisans from neighbouring countries into Nigeria was not because Nigerians did not have the capacity, but partly because Nigeria’s economy was bigger than the others in the sub-region and the citizens of neighbouring countries were in Nigeria to seek inclusion and opportunity beyond their shores.

    To dominate the built environment, he said Nigerians must make it worthwhile, adding that it could be achieved by training people. In addition, he said the nation must deliberately promote economic opportunity by budgeting for capital spending and utilising home grown and home made materials.

    This thinking, Fashola noted, made the present administration to opt for increased capital spending in the 2016 budget as means of reflating and stimulating the economy back to growth. “One of the decisions taken by the administration was to raise capital spending in this year’s budget to 30 per cent of the total budget of N6.06 trillion. This is a departure from 2015 budget when just N400 billion of the total budget of N4 trillion was planned for capital spending and much less was spent,” he said.

    Government’s determination in that respect, he added, was to provide opportunity for inclusion, whereby growth translates to employment, provides incomes for ordinary and hardworking people, who are able to put food on their tables and participate in nation building.

    He, however, warned that inclusion and employment would not be achieved if those for whom the budget was made abdicated their responsibility of building to foreigners or preferred foreign goods to local ones. “Should that happen”, he warned, “the budget would still work, but the benefit would be transferred to foreign countries and factories.”

    The Minister said it was time  scarce resources did more, included more people and delivered more value. One way to achieve that, he explained, was for the states to spend more on housing construction.

    Also at the event, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), made it clear that the establishment of finishing schools and skills enhancement centres in the country’s six geo-political zones would enhance availability of adequate manpower in the built environment.

    According to the FHA, the establishment of such centres would ensure the quality of manpower since it would provide technical guidance in the production and application of new building materials and techniques.

    In the memo titled: “Routinisation of Land Acquisition in States by the Federal Housing Authority: A Panacea to Building Adequate Capacity for Professionals, Artisans and Tradesmen in the Built Environment”, the FHA said such training could be achieved through its revitalised Direct Labour Unit, which would train such categories of people on new skills and components. Certified skilled contractors’ foremen, it added, would also mentor and train artisans on various aspects of work.

    The Authority also canvassed the enhancement of the current internship programme of students industrial work experience (SIWES) with the ultimate goal of enhancing available manpower. It suggested that provision be made to engage contractors on large projects to provide for the training of artisans and apprentices for partners running the projects while in use. It argued that such a move would help in the provision of adequate manpower. It also identified collaboration and partnership with professional bodies in the built environment as an opportunity to improve the availability of adequate professionals and artisans in the built environment. The body also advocated the provision of monetary incentives and support for the establishment of an appropriate financial institution exclusively to assist in the training of such personnel through the provision of loans on generous terms for the acquisition of raw materials and tools.

    The FHA recommended the identification of the building materials used traditionally in housing construction by the low income segment of the populace in various parts of the country with a view to initiating the appropriate research and development programme for such components. It also recommended the promotion of extensive use of alternative building materials developed through research and development in government construction prgrammes especially where such material could be substituted without unduly impairing the quality of construction.

    It further called for the formulation of an appropriate policy aimed at the enhancement of overall capacity building and development of the nation’s construction and building materials industry.

  • LASG rolls out ‘Operation clean up Lagos’

    The Lagos State government, through the state’s Ministry of the Environment, last weekend kicked off a four-month state-wide clean up campaign tagged:  “Operation Clean Lagos”, aimed at complementing an earlier campaign initiated by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    The state-wide operation is being implemented by the Enforcement and Advocacy Department of the ministry, in conjunction with the Ministry’s agencies, including the Lagos state Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), and securitymen.

    The Director, Environmental Health Unit, Mr Femi Daini, who co-ordinated the weekend operation, disclosed that at the end of the exercise, the Governor expects that all environmental infractions which ultimately negatively impacts on the health and safety of the people, as well as the efficiency of all the drains in an aquatic state like Lagos would have been removed.

    According to him, the renewed exercise had become more urgent because of the unfavourable rainfall predictions by the meteorological agencies and the threat posed by some residents indiscriminately violating environmental laws through obstruction of the drainage channels with illegal structures and indiscriminate disposal of wastes.

    He disclosed that apart from fragrantly violating the zero tolerance policy of the present administration to all environmental infractions; street traders, owners of illegal shanties, extensions and overhanging attachments to shops  have been obstructing traffic, walkways and road setbacks  despite serial notices  served on them.

    The clean-up operation took off simultaneously on Friday, September 9, 2016, at 10 a.m. and lasted till 4 pm in all the five divisions of the state in Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe.

    The Ikeja operation led by Mr Oladele Awoniyi, covered Obafemi Awolowo through Kodeso and under-bridge areas. Some shops, which were served abatement notices for a month, were also sealed up.

    In Badagry, Mr Ismail Oyeniran, led the operation, which covered Joseph Dosu Way, Round About and Grammar School areas, which were cleared of all environmental violations.

    The Ikorodu operation led  by Olugbenga Onabegun successfully rid Agric, Benson, Garage, Round About, Ojubode, sagamu road axis of all illegal street traders, road setbacks, walkways, shanties and illegal extensions. At Sabo area, illegal ram sellers were served notices to vacate the area immediately after the Sallah holidays.

    Outer and Inner Marina were cleared of street traders on road setbacks, walk-ways and drainage channels by a team led by Mr Olukemi Suleiman.

    At Epe , areas covered by a team led by Mr A.E.Fasasi, included Oja Chief, T-Junction to the Beach and terminal areas.

    Speaking at the end of the exercise, Daini said because of the massive enlightenment and adequate notices, which preceded the  exercise, the security agencies, including men of the Task Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp and the KAI Brigade, made no arrests.

    He noted that ’the immediate impact of the exercise was the improved flow of traffic, and fewer reports of flash flooding in the state, despite reports of bigger havoc wrecked in other states that are not coastal and riverine like Lagos.

    The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, urged Lagosians to bag their waste and dispose them through the PSP operators, rather than go through illegal cart pushers, who dump their wastes in drainage channels, which may result in flooding and avoidable loss of lives and properties.

  • Lagos to demolish structures on drains

    Lagos to demolish structures on drains

    All structures on drainage channels and alignments hampering the free flow of water in Lagos are to be demolished.

    The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, gave the order during a tour of dark drainage spots during last weekend’s downpour.

    The tour, which took the Commissioner and the Ministry’s officials and those of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) to Sogunle-Ikeja, Ajiran in Lekki and Salawe/Taike in Ikosi-Ketu, among other areas in the state, disclosed that most of the flooded areas had been blocked by refuse dumps, illegal structures on low lying areas, flood plains and drainage channels.

    Adejare, while empathising with the affected communities, assured the victims of the flood that  Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has ordered interventions, including re-dredging of all drainages and canals impacted by the incident to prevent any loss of lives and property.

    Adejare appealed to residents located on the state’s low-lying areas and flood plains to relocate to higher grounds, considering that heavier rains were in the offing ahead.

    Lagosians, he warned, should desist from dumping refuse into the drainage channels because they are meant to drain water and not for waste.

    “I am appealing to residents not to dump refuse into the drains. We must manage our waste and package them well so that they don’t find their ways into the canals. Our men have been working on the canals since weekend,” he said.

    The state, he said, had since last year, embarked on massive clearing and dredging of primary and secondary channels/collectors, expansion of existing drainage channels, to contain more storm water, lining of many earth channels, to ensure flow efficiency, full mobilisation of resident engineers/drainage maintenance officers to oversee drainage matters in all the local government areas/LCDA’s across the state and regular monitoring and oversight of other environmental challenge.

    Allaying the fears of flooding, he said: “Lagos, as a coastal state is susceptible to flash floods anytime it rained with high intensity and residents of low line areas were especially prone to the back flow effect. We are likely to have flashfloods on our roads as normal occurrences all over the world. As long as the drains are clean, we should be assured that, in a matter of time, the flash floods will disappear.”

    The Commissioner explained that when flood water remained on the roads for days, there could be flooding. “It must be noted that, anytime the Lagoon level rises, it will ‘lock up’ our drainage channels and until it recedes, there will be no discharge. Occurrences like these also cause backflows, resorting to flooding. But, as soon as the Lagoon recedes, all the generated storm water will immediately discharge and our roads will be free,” he explained.

    The Nigeria Meteorological Agency and Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency, in their 2016 Annual Flood Outlook warned that this year’s flooding would be higher than that of last year. The predictions indicated that coastal cities like Lagos will experience “flooding, sea-level rise and tidal surges’’.”

    The agency named Ogun-Osun as one of the River Basins, which will experience flooding, urging the communities in the adjoining plains to keep safe distances.

    Adejare, therefore, advised Lagosians who reside along flood plains, coastal and low-lying wetland areas near major rivers, such as Ikorodu, Owode, Iwaya, Makoko, Badia, Ijora, Isaalu, Pota, and Sibiri, to always be on the alert, adding that when the need arises the government shall notify such residents.

    He added that low lying areas were vulnerable to flooding, and that they were natural courses of water which ought not to be converted to residential abodes.

    He said most of the incidence of flooding in the state were caused by human errors, which could have been averted if there was attitudinal change and appropriate use of drainage channels.

  • Cherry Wood Court promo ends in few hours

    Cherry Wood Court promo ends in few hours

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    Cherry Wood Court is located on Cherry Wood Drive, Osoroko, Ibeju Lekki .

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