To help accelerate the planned reforms in the housing sector, the minister for Housing and Urban Development, arc. Ahmed Dangiwa, will this week inaugurate reform teams.
The teams include: The Housing Reform Task Team, with the primary objective of ensuring that housing agencies under the supervision of the ministry are optimized to deliver on the provision of quality, decent and affordable homes to Nigerians. The team comprises housing industry sector experts, stakeholders, agency representatives, professional bodies, and academia. Their primary mandate is to develop a robust framework for the reform of the housing sector.
This includes a thorough review and facilitation of necessary legislative amendments of relevant housing industry laws, including National Housing Fund (NHF) Act,1992, FMBN Establishment Act, 1993, Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Act,1973, and PenCom Act (to allow for increased investment in housing). In addition, the Multi-Agency Project Delivery Task Team will ensure that all housing agencies under the supervision of the ministry work collaboratively.
Its scope of work includes developing a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for the construction of 20,000 new houses per year. It will coordinate efforts of the ministry, FMBN, FHA and Family Homes Funds Limited (FHFL), to streamline processes and eliminate bottlenecks in housing development so as to increase the national housing stock.
Another team set for inauguration is the Land Reforms Task Team, which is meant to develop a blueprint that will aid sustainable implementation of reforms necessary for streamlining land administration and ensuring easy, cost effective and efficient access to land in Nigeria. It comprises state governments, traditional rulers, relevant agencies, professional bodies, academia, stakeholders/sector experts to ensure buy-in and inclusivity.
Also set for inauguration is the Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs Task Team, which will boost building materials manufacturing in the country towards ensuring economic growth, creating jobs, reducing dependency on imports, and lowering the cost of construction materials and housing delivery. Primarily, their job is to conduct a thorough assessment of the current state of the building materials manufacturing sector in Nigeria, including existing facilities, capacities, and key players. They are to also identify challenges and opportunities within the sector.
Consultants have also been appointed to provide technical support for each of the teams to ensure speedy access to needed resources, efficient harnessing and synthesis of deliberations, structured reporting, and timely delivery of stated terms of reference. The teams will have eight weeks to deliver.