Off-takers
By Ella Anokam
Abuja, April 29, 2018 (NAN) Dr Joshua Egbagbe, a value chain expert, has urged the Federal Government and estate developers to conduct an off-takers’ affordability analysis before embarking on any housing construction.
Egbagbe, who is also the Chairman, Value Chain Project Consultants Ltd., gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
He said the advice became necessary to achieve affordable housing in Nigeria.
Egbagbe noted that housing deficit lingered in the country, after all said and done, due to lack of off-takers affordability paradigm shift which he said was critical in bridging the deficit.
He also said the analysis would enable the housing developers to know the indices of both formal and informal workers in Nigeria, to arrive at their wants and income.
“Through the off-takers affordability paradigm shift, which is the off-takers analysis, the government and developers can be able to know the number and kind of houses to build and who needs intervention.
“With the analysis, no developer will build any house that will be wasted or unoccupied because he is building to a targeted, affordability group.
“In the housing sector, the policies don’t seem to take the people who need the houses (off-takers) into considerations.
“Off-takers should be put at the very centre of housing polices, planning and decision- making processes.
“Right now in Nigeria, there is a big mismatch between the houses that are being built and the individual affordability, otherwise called pocket capacity,’’ he said.
He, however, proposed a paradigm shift which he said would put the off-takers in the centre of planning and policy of housing.
“In every aspect of the value chain of housing, if you do not understand the challenges the off-takers are going through, you will not be able to achieve affordable housing.
“And there will be a dichotomy or discordance between the house and affordability.’’
The expert noted that some workers might not be able to afford 6 per cent mortgage interest of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) under the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme.
According to him, while FMBN fund is at 6 per cent, the cheapest in Nigeria, the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) is refinancing with about 16 per cent to 18 per cent interest rate.
The expert said that affordability was not only about interest rate but also with off-takers analysis which would ascertain who qualified for what and other factors.
Egbagbe recalled that when he built a major estate in Bauchi, his experience during the construction as regards housing development and its finance was an eye-opener.
He noted that the state government, then, was not able to fulfil some of its obligations like infrastructure which he said made the cost of the houses to jump beyond the original plan.
“So, in trying to resolve the housing challenges, I discovered that there was a big mismatch between pricing and the off-takers capacity to pay.
“So, I got to see the roles that government plays in the housing value chain.
“I discovered that If we don’t look at housing from the perspective of value chain that means, every link that plays a role in providing a house to off-takers won’t work in this country.”
He said the government understanding of affordable housing was not yet people-driven, adding that the real problem was not only at the Federal or State governments level, rather at the grassroots.
“There is a problem at the local government areas and wards. The grassroots people are not involved in development principles.
“Government in the state should also understand what kind of houses the civil servants can afford and the civil servants who actually need help or intervention.
“For example, in Niger, they do not need high rise buildings because of its culture, rather, they need bungalows which means off-takers affordability is not also about money but also about cultural issues.
He, however, called for housing intervention fund by government, adding that with housing intervention, backed with affordability data, there would be a multiplier effect in the sector. (NAN)
ELLA/OFN/DUA
Edited by Felix Nwadioha/Dada Ahmed