The role of private partnership in housing finance, delivery and maintenance in nigeria

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p><b>INTRODUCTION</b></p><p><b>1.1 &nbsp; BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY</b></p><p>The housing<br>sector plays a more critical role in a nation’s welfare than is always<br>recognized, as it directly affects not only the citizenry, but also the<br>performance of other sectors of the economy. Adequate housing provision has<br>since the early 1970s consequently engaged the attention of most countries,<br>especially the developing nations for a number of reasons. First, it is one of<br>the three most important basic needs of mankind- the others being food and<br>clothing. Secondly, housing is a very important durable consumer item, which<br>impacts positively on productivity, as decent housing significantly increases<br>worker’s health and wellbeing, and consequently growth. Thirdly, it is one of<br>the indices for measuring the standard of living of people across societies<br>(Sanusi, 2003).</p><p>Propelled by<br>the patriotic quest of addressing Nigeria’s acute housing problem, the Federal<br>Government came up with a National Policy on Housing and Urban Development in<br>2002. The policy has since then triggered milestone reforms in the nation’s<br>housing industry aimed at repositioning it for efficient and effective housing<br>delivery and maintenance. One of the means through which the policy is been<br>achieved is on public-private partnership concept. The thrust of the policy is<br>to raise the home ownership rate among Nigerians to a respectable level by<br>moving the housing industry to sustainably deliver mass, decent and affordable<br>housing with the active participation of the private sector-driven mortgage<br>based housing delivery and maintenance system (Oduwaye, 2004). The policy<br>believes that this will particularly address the housing problem of most<br>Nigerian citizens.</p><p>The concept of<br>private partnership in housing financing, delivery and maintenance system is<br>predicated on the pooling together of resources from the various stakeholders,<br>each party making inputs, thereby minimizing wastage and maximizing results<br>achieved. Ikekpeazu (2004) stressed that the expediency of the increased<br>adoption of the public-private partnership for housing financing and delivery<br>in the present socio-economic circumstances of shortage of housing in Nigeria<br>is now even more glaring than ever. With the increasing demand of the<br>population on the national economy and the government’s propensity for<br>enlarging the multi-sectorial allocations in terms of finance, it is becoming<br>obvious that government alone can no longer provide adequate housing for all<br>categories of her citizens particularly the low income earners.</p><p>The organized<br>private sector comprise of members of the real estate developers association of<br>Nigeria and some commercial banks that have real estate departments.Average citizens including the low-income earners do<br>not easily have access to housing finance because of their low wages. Nigeria<br>is a country with high unequal income distribution, a situation that restricts<br>the reach of the vast majority in the acquisitionof quality housing. This study<br>examines the role of public-private partnership in housing finance, delivery<br>and maintenance in Nigeria.</p><p>The public-private partnership for housing delivery under Nigeria’s<br>current housing policy (Abdulsalam, 2008) confers certain identifiable roles on<br>both the public and the private sector. The roles of the private sector in housing<br>financing, delivery and maintenance with particular reference to private<br>partnership includes responsible for production of physical houses, responsible<br>for primary mortgage lending, required to invest mortgage securities and responsible<br>for the production and supply of building materials, particularly local<br>content.</p><p><b>1.2 &nbsp; STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM</b></p><p>Housing<br>finance constitutes one of the major pillars of housing delivery and<br>maintenance system. Indeed, without a well-organized and efficient housing<br>finance mechanism, the goal of a housing development and maintenance policy<br>will be largely unattainable. Housing finance has been recognised as an<br>important, almost indispensable factor in the housing delivery and maintenancesystem.<br>This is because only the very few in any nation can afford to pay cash for a<br>house or pay cash for a major renovation of the house. Most other people must<br>have to finance their house building and maintenance through loans, personal<br>savings, assistance from relatives or friends and gifts. Introduction of<br>public-private partnership in housing delivery and maintenance is to enhance<br>the productivity of the housing sector, increase housing affordability and<br>improve access to basic infrastructure and social services. Ikekpeazu (2004)<br>stressed that in order to attain the desired outcome for private partnership,<br>the perception of the housing sector as a vast arena of social problems and a<br>drain on the economy must change. Housing must be seen as an important economic<br>sector with crucial linkages to the overall economy of a nation. The housing<br>sector is a key component of the economy. It is typically the largest single<br>form of fixed capital investment, in most economics. Based on these facts, the<br>researcher seeks to examine the role of private partnership in house finance,<br>delivery and maintenance in Nigeria.</p><p><b>1.3 &nbsp; OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>The following are the objectives of this study:</p><p>1. To<br>examine the role of<br>private partnership in house finance, delivery and maintenance in Nigeria.</p><p>2. To ascertain the level of investment in housing<br>delivery and maintenance in Nigeria.</p><p>3. To identify the problems of housing finance, delivery<br>and maintenance in Nigeria.</p><p><b>1.4 &nbsp; RESEARCH QUESTIONS</b></p><p>1. What<br>is the role of private<br>partnership in house finance, delivery and maintenance in Nigeria?</p><p>2. What is the level of investment in housing delivery<br>and maintenance in Nigeria?</p><p>3. What are the problems of housing finance, delivery and<br>maintenance in Nigeria?</p><p><b>1.5 &nbsp; HYPOTHESIS</b></p><p>HO: Private partnership has not<br>contributed to housing finance, delivery and maintenance in Nigeria.</p><p>HA: Private partnership has contributed<br>to housing finance, delivery and maintenance in Nigeria.</p><p><b>1.6 &nbsp; SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>The following are the significance of this study:</p><p>1. The<br>results of this study will educate the general public on the role of public<br>private partnership and how it can be used as the instrument of development in<br>housing finance, delivery and maintenance.</p><p>2. The<br>findings will sensitize the stakeholders in building construction and real<br>estate management on the need for effective collaboration with the private<br>sector to ensure speedy financing and delivery of housing units all over the<br>country noting that private partnership has facilitated development in housing<br>delivery and maintenance in other advanced countries of the world.</p><p>3. This<br>research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers<br>interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if<br>applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic.</p><p><b>1.7 &nbsp; SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>This study on the role of private partnership in<br>housing finance, delivery and maintenance in Nigeria will cover the involvement<br>of private sector in the provision and maintenance of housing units with focus<br>on the existing housing structure and management in Nigeria.</p><p><b>LIMITATION OF STUDY</b></p><p><b>1. &nbsp;</b><b>Financial<br>constraint</b>–<br>Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing<br>for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of<br>data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).</p><p><b>2. &nbsp;</b><b>Time<br>constraint</b>– The<br>researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work.<br>This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.</p><p><b>REFERENCES</b></p><p>Abdulsalam, A. (2008): Public-Private Partnership in Housing Finance at<br>a seminar organised by the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers<br>(Ondo State Branch), held on the 13th of November, 2008, at Owena-Nicon<br>Luxury Hotels, Akure.</p><p>Ikekpeazu, F. (2004): New Trends in Low-cost Housing delivery systems in<br>Nigeria: An Overview of the public-private partnership approach<i>. Housing Today, 1 (8), 30 – 36.</i></p><p>Oduwaye, L. (2004): Problems and Prospects of Primary Mortgage<br>Institutions (PMIs) in Nigeria: Case of selected PMIs in Lagos. Housing Today,<br>1 (8) 14-18.</p><p>Sanusi, J. O. (2003): Mortgage Financing In Nigeria:<br>Issues And Challenges, a paper presented at the 9th John Wood<br>Ekpenyong Memorial Lecture, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Estate<br>Surveyors and Valuers, April 29, 2003.</p> <br><p></p>