The lull in the delivery of housing units under the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme to allottees may be over very soon. The delay may not be unconnected with the change in government and the re-engineering of government operations going on in the state. Now, in furtherance of empowering more residents to own houses, the state is set to roll out a rent-to-own scheme, raising the hope of millions of Lagosians, writes MUYIWA LUCAS.
In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, shelter comes second after food. This is why no government interested in the welfare of its people toil with accommodation for its citizens.
The Lagos State government, aware of the enormous pressure this constitute, has through various schemes tried to ameliorate the sufferings of the people in this regard. One of such initiatives is its Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS), launched toward the end of the last administration.
But the continued pressure on the state government to deliver on the scheme has been slowed down. This is because of the change in government and the restructuring of government business. But last week, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Mr. Olatunji Odunlami, in a meeting with allotees of Mushin, Igando and Sangotedo schemes, assured of the renewed efforts to deliver the houses on schedule.
Odunlami appealed to the allottees be patient promising that government is determined to deliver quality and well finished houses to the allottees. He blamed the electioneering period which usually affects government business and the reengineering of government business at this period, as the cause of the delay in handing over units in the Mushin scheme, assuring that the allottees will get their house keys by this month end.
The delay
According to Odunlami, the delay in the delivery of the houses was due to the state government’s afforts at streamlining the approach to providing services to residents.
He said: “The government is trying to reengineer itself to serve the people better. Those houses ought to have been completed and delivered because the Mushin project is already at 95 per cent but the estate will be completed and keys handed over to the allotees at the end of this month. “The governor has given a mandate to the ministry to do a review of all the ongoing housing estates under the scheme to help in completing all the outstanding.”
Allottees demand
At the meeting with the state government, the allottees appealed to the government to look into their demands and request, especially since they were supposed to have taken possession of the units since December last year. They demanded that government should refund rents already paid by allottees to their landlords from December last year to the time they will get their allocation.
Responding to the demand, Odunlami explained that whether government would pay them the rent that is owed, will involve dialogue.
“We can keep talking and definitely, government will do what it can do because these are our people. Whatever they have asked and whatever is possible is what we are going to do. Some of them may be saying they want to take back their money. We don’t want them to do that because we have committed to them.
“But if somebody is insisting that he wants to take his money, maybe he thinks his money has been spent, then they would be asked to come and pick up their money. Government has committed that they look; we are going to deliver to you, as far as it is a commitment of the government, then people should hold on to it. Like I was discussing with someone that even if someone wants to take his money, today-that let me come my money temporarily, we won’t withdraw the allocation. So when he is done, bring back your money and pay it to us. It is just to show your commitment and that is why you are paying. If you don’t do that and then you don’t it on time, then you will have issues at the end of the day.”
Rent-to-own scheme
Odunlami said to further provide housing for Lagosians, the state government will soon commence a rent-to-own scheme under the Homeownership Mortgage Scheme. He explained that modalities were being worked out to ensure its smooth take off. The scheme was initiated by former governor Babatunde Fashola, to encourage residents to participate in the state’s housing scheme aimed at reducing shortage of homes. He said under the scheme, those who cannot afford the equity for an outright purchase of a house will pay a rent for a specific period, which will go towards offsetting the cost of the house.
This, he further explained, is part of government’s efforts aimed at expanding the home ownership schemes as much as possible for people. “For government to bring out a policy, we have to think about it critically; consider the entire element involved vis-a-vis the people for whom you are planning the programme. We are in the process now; we are working out the number to see what it comes to, based on our yardstick which is usually the public servants whom we can easily track. The private sector can also key into the scheme,” Odunlami said.
Other schemes
The Sangotedo and Igando schemes, the Permanent Secretary assured, would be completed in phases and done simultaneously. The permanent secretary said all previous agreements reached in respect of the houses would be implemented.
“We will continue to work simultaneously on the Sangotedo and Igandu schemes, Sangotedo is 60 per cent completed,
“Look at Anthony Enahoro Estate in Ogba; all its facilities are in place; that estate is connected; they have transformer there, that’s what they are using now. The only thing that they were talking about was the issue of alternative power supply. I think a lot of people felt that alternative power is a responsibility of government, it is not.
Infrastructure, maintenance
An allottee under the Mushin scheme, Mr. Dotun Coker, appealed to the state government to address the issue of power supply to the estate and others. To this end, Odunlami explained that the estates would soon be connected to the national grid as generating sets would not be allowed under the scheme.
Besides, the state government would engage facility managers from the private sector to manage the estates. “There is a need for coordinated approach to maintenance and facility managers will be employed. The government is not set to manage the estates, it will provide the necessary wherewithal and allow the private sector to run it,” he clarified.
In estates such as Anthony Enahoro in Ogba, Odunlami said he is aware of the issue of alternative power supply. He disclosed that though everybody wants to use generator, but for health and other reasons, that will not be possible. “We don’t allow people to bring in individual generator. You won’t be able to control it. That is why the best thing to do is to bring what is readily available, a big generator. But the running of it is the responsibility of the residents because they are the ones consuming it; that is what we are working on now,” he said.
