Political interference and lack of independence have been identified as the bane of housing agencies.
President, Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN), Dr. Ifenna E. Chukwujekwu, said at the association’s forum in Lagos that these factors, among others are hindering the sorporations from performing.
With Nigeria’s homeownership rate put at about 25 per cent, compared to 90 per cent in Singapore, 70 per cent in the United States, 74 per cent in Brazil, 63 per cent in Columbia, 56 per cent in South Africa and 41 per cent in Libya, Chukwujekwu regretted that the situation did not give much hope of improving because most of the state housing agencies were underutilised and have been rendered redundant, thereby making them be in a position in which they are unable to effectively discharge their primary responsibility as stated in the laws setting them up.
He hinged the corporations’ failure on the usurpation of their roles by the states’ ministry, adding that the latter are supposed to formulate policies and monitor its parastatals to ensure compliance.
Besides, Chukwujekwu noted inadequate finance to state housing corporations on project execution as a limiting factor ins the industry.
According to the AHCN chief, inadequate moral support and backing in terms of loan guarantee for state housing corporations when seeking housing loans and politicking with such funds, has rendered some corporations unable to meet up with servicing their loans.
The non-availability of Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) to assist some state housing corporations in disposing some of their housing units, he insisted, has been a problem.
“The problems of housing delivery are rooted in the lack of finance, escalating cost of building materials and infrastructural development cost; these three problems have also constrained the performance of housing agencies,” Chukwujekwu said.
He listed other problems to include lack of government’s support in the provision of infrastructural facilities in most housing estates, inadequate funding of research on local building materials; withdrawal of some state governments from the National Housing Fund (NHF) contribution, the establishment of politically motivated parallel housing organisations in some state, thereby duplicating the duties of the corporations.
But all hope is not lost. Chukwujekwe said the corporations could still deliver on their mandate if they are shielded from political interference.
To do this, he said the corporations shoud be commercialised to make them more productive.
Also, the corporations should be restructured to make them vibrant.
AHCN was established in 1964 to make available homes and mass produce houses in their states.
