‘Land title, major hindrance to land devt’

In his paper presentation titled ‘the land factor in housing production’ presented at the 2nd housing summit organised by the Nigerian institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) in Abuja, Umezuruike said that availability of land for housing goes far beyond the physical land, adding that, what is more important to developers is the title […]

In his paper presentation titled ‘the land factor in housing production’ presented at the 2nd housing summit organised by the Nigerian institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) in Abuja, Umezuruike said that availability of land for housing goes far beyond the physical land, adding that, what is more important to developers is the title to land while calling for political will on the part of government in solving this.
He added that land is the most important factor of production because no production can take place without it and is most evident in housing production and as such proper legislation and management needs to be in put in place for it to be better put in use.
He  said, “The same dismal situation is also present in most other African countries; which is why the AU in the Bamako Declaration and Plan of Action adopted a new plan to tackle the issue. They recognized that land is critical for sustainable urban development; and that land is at the core of housing and urban development in Africa. They agreed that progress was shackled by weak political will and the kind of leadership required undertaking reforms which will address the needs of the urban poor.
“The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), an arm of the UN-HABITAT, has identified 14 priority areas that should be tackled to fight this housing shortage. Seven out of these are directly linked with land as follows; Land Tenure Reform,  Land Rights Records and Registration, Land Use Planning, Regulations of Land Markets to Enhance Sustainable Land Use, Land Management, Administration and Information,  Slum Rehabilitation and Resettlement,  Land Law Regulation and Enforcement.”