NIESV sees higher revenue prospects for Lagos in site-and-serviced schemes
The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Lagos State branch, says there is higher revenue prospects for the state government in site-and-serviced schemes than going into direct housing development as the state currently does under its mortgage scheme.
The institution notes that site-and-serviced scheme has triple advantage of bringing more revenue to the state, saving private developers the pain and cost of providing infrastructure by themselves and encouraging homeownership through reduction in the cost of construction and ultimately house prices.
At a press conference preceding its Annual General Meeting and elections recently, Stephen Jagun, the immediate past chairman of the branch, explained that when government developed site-and-serviced schemes, more people would be encouraged to buy and/or build.
“When this happens, government would get more money from building approvals, more money will come from people seeking Governor’s Consent, people who build their houses will pay land use charges, property taxes, tenement rates, etc”, he said.
Jagun who was reacting to insinuations in some quarters that the Lagos State Homeownership Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS) does not favour those who need it, especially low income earners, because of its stringent conditions, advised the new government in the state under Akinwunmi Ambode to engage professionals in its policy decisions in order to achieve optimum results.
Specifically, he called on the state government to engage the services of estate surveyors and valuers to critically review its land use charge, stressing that the present formula in use for the charge was neither obtainable nor defendable anywhere else in the world.
“The land use charge should follow due process; the formula used is not known anywhere else in the world; how did they arrive at the values; property values are taken for granted because no government official goes anywhere to do property inspection before valuation”, he noted, advising further that this has to be done properly with estate surveyors and valuers.
According to him, the wealth of any nation is on its land and so, such a nation should not neglect estate surveyors, who he described as land economists, in dealing with anything that has to do with the land.
Jagun argued that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government’s promise of one million housing units annually might turn out to be a pipe dream if professionals were not involved in implementing that programme as only professionals knew what to do in the neighbourhoods where houses are to be built.
Meanwhile, Offiong Samuel Ukpong has emerged chairman of the branch in a keenly contested election that was a major highlight of the 2015 AGM. Ukpong has Olurogba Orimalade as his vice.
Other executive members that emerged from the election are Adeyemi Onikan, secretary; Omotola Ahamioje, treasurer; Olabisi Demola-Alade, financial secretary; Moses Emele, publicity secretary, and Bridget Oranye, assistant secretary. Oladapo Ogunlewe, Adedotun Bamigbola, Tosin Kadiri and Obade Oseghale were elected un-official members.
CHUKA UROKO