From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja
A mild drama played out at the House of Representatives yesterday with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and members of the Committee on Housing disagreeing over the implementation of N35 billion budget for Housing.
Trouble started when the minister, in his presentation, said the ministry was still in the process of sorting out the designs for the project, and in response, the Committee accused the ministry of incompetence over the implementation of the projects covered in the budget.
Chairman of the committee, Mustapha Dawaki (APC-Kano), while speaking on his observations of ongoings in the sector, expressed doubt on the competence of the ministry to implement the National Housing Project, six months into the fiscal year 2016.
But Fashola explained that he inherited a 2012 Housing Plan that had no blueprint for its implementation.
He said it was the public private partnership (PPP) agreements entered into by previous administrations which could not solve the country’s housing challenges, saying, with a target of 21,008 units, the previous PPPs could only deliver 2,750 units over the years.
He expressed regret that most PPPs that claimed to have delivered their targets had no evidence to show for it, while the delivered houses were inaccessible and out of the reach of most Nigerians.
He further explained that in view of the failure of previous PPPs, the ministry had to look at a sustainable and affordable housing project for Nigerians.
Besides going into partnership with a German firm for the provision of energy, efficient housing units needed to be incorporated into the National Housing code.
The minister disclosed that the ministry has commissioned Shelter Afrique for a $5,000 housing unit for low income earners.
He said the ministry is looking at either mortgage financing or rent-to-own option as modes of payment for the prospective house owners.
According to the minister, the ministry was yet to advertise for the project because it pruned down the unit designs from 480 to 12, and had to further reduce it to six.
Dawaki asked: “What has the ministry been doing since November last year, when the budget was presented, till now that appropriate designs are not ready, you have not even advertised for it?
“Are you not competent or what?; because you ought to have completed the design by February, so that once the budget was passed, you commence. Design should not take more than 15 days because your experts in the ministry have been doing it for years.
“By the time you start this project, you will have just about three months left in the year, even if the budget is extended to March 2017, that will be just six months.”