Exploring avenues for affordable housing for the urban poor

Just like any other urban area, Abuja City cannot survive without the urban poor, who overwhelmingly constitute the labour force sustaining the City. Unfortunately, rather than living in the city where they earn their livelihood, majority of the labour force of the Federal Capital City live outside. This is because the multiple housing estates available […]

Just like any other urban area, Abuja City cannot survive without the urban poor, who overwhelmingly constitute the labour force sustaining the City. Unfortunately, rather than living in the city where they earn their livelihood, majority of the labour force of the Federal Capital City live outside. This is because the multiple housing estates available are exotic, mostly not tailored for the affordability of the ordinary citizens who belong to the low income group.
The solution for the ordinary citizen is to explore where housing rents are affordable, or where they can out rightly building of their houses at affordable rates. This is what is responsible for the people living at Suleja, Madalla, Mararraba and Masaka, and their surrounding suburbs, in Niger and Nasarawa States. This is the major reason for the lack of hustle and bustle city life in the City at weekends and public holidays.
The basic elements of housing that determines affordability are land, finance, infrastructure, building materials and labour. Our Government has stopped the direct provision of houses, even if it built, is for sale to recover the investment, either on short or long term bases. In such circumstances, the major areas where the government can directly play key role are land acquisition and the provision of infrastructure, while organized private sector and the community controls the finance, building materials and labour.
The Accelerated Mass Housing developments, Malaysian Housing model and others were among the policy options explored by the Authority. Clearly, all these previous options explored for housing provision neglected the aspect of affordability; hence the preponderance of the empty completed housing units across the length and breadth of the city. Thus, to some extent, housing problems in Abuja is not that of availability but affordability. Because the sources of financing the housing estates were mostly from ill-gotten wealth, the owners wouldn’t mind the houses being empty till such a time they are able to get their desired price, irrespective of the hash economic climate. Unlike genuine investors that require continuous fund for reinvestment, these category of people do not care, because they are not in need, there are plenty slush cash where the little amount was removed for this project. We have earlier advocated for heavy tax on all these houses lying fallow without occupants.
Government measures to make Abuja land to become less expensive and cumbersome to acquire, at the same time the continuation with the policy of prompt provision of infrastructure shall in no small way have positive impact towards the reduction of the high cost of housing in the city. However, I am afraid it shall still not be adequate for the attainment of affordability to the urban poor. Housing in Abuja shall remain the exclusive reserve of the rich for a very long time to come.
Infrastructure as one of the key components improves the value of land. Contrarily, instead of becoming an advantage to lower the cost of land and housing, the provision of infrastructure by the Government are being capitalized upon at no cost by the private sector to increase the cost of rent and housing at no benefit whatsoever to the Government. It is suggested that the Authority monitor land and landed property related transactions, with the imposition of special tax to be dedicated to special project for the provision of affordable housing by the Authority.
The Authority should encourage the emergence of strong community based associations, which it can collaborate with, by provision of land at suitable locations, assist them in the areas of acquiring soft loans from financial and mortgage institutions to build their houses. The employment of community based labour and knowledge of special low cost construction technology through assistance from government and established philanthropic organizations shall be an added advantage.
In the FCT, the local inhabitants are threatened by relocation. The upgrading of informal housing through community development approach could be applicable for the integration of local and indigenous communities threaten by relocation by the city expansion.
Community driven projects are favoured policy option for meeting the needs and aspirations of the urban poor. It relies on the community resources and initiative to find affordable, innovative and sustainable solutions to housing shortages that meets local needs. Government role is to become one of the resource supporters rather than direct provision.