Committee on affordable housing wants FG’s intervention

The Committee for Development of Blueprint for Affordable Housing set up by the federal government has called for government’s intervention in the housing sector in order to reduce the housing deficit in the country.

Mr Aithelbert Mouka, the chairman of the committee, said this while submitting the committee’s report to the Permanent Secretary, Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr George Ossi, in Abuja.

He said that the committee identified the challenges of affordable housing to include: affordability gap in home ownership; dearth of long -term funds; inadequate capital and resource base of primary mortgage institutions; difficulty in accessing land and secure title of land due to the shortcomings in the provisions and implementation of the Land Use Act of 1978.

The chairman who is also the director, planning and statistic in the ministry, added that insufficient domestic production and high cost of building materials, dearth of local skilled artisans and craftsmen as well as inadequate housing infrastructure also hindered the provision of affordable housing.

According to a statement from the public relations officer, Mrs Eno Olotu, the committee recommended that governments at all levels should provide construction finance for social housing delivery for the poor and vulnerable and affordable housing for the working class nationwide as obtained in countries such as Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa and Singapore.

The committee recommended deepening liquidity of the housing finance market, recapitalisation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the provision of affordable long-term mortgage finance ranging from 25-30 years.