The Federal Government has set up an ad-hoc committee to review the re-structuring and commercialization of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).
The committee was set up on the directive of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola at a meeting held in the Ministry on April 19, 2016.
The Minister had directed that the committee should review the FHA Restructuring and Commercialization/Housing Sector implementation Framework presented to himat the meeting by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
BPE’s Director of National Facilities and Agricultural Resources of the BPE, Mr. Yunana Jackdell Malo, in the letter convening the meeting of the Committee, said the panel would entertain the concerns, issues and recommendations that may form the basis of a revised implementation framework for FHA’s restructuring and commercialization.
According to its terms of reference, the committee will distill the new reform vision for the housing sector as articulated by the Minister;
- Review the National Council on Privatization (NCP) approved implementation framework to better align it with the Minister’s policy direction and objectives for the housing sector.
- Review aspects of the various work streams in the implementation framework to ensure that they are fit for purpose and revisit the key elements of the restructuring and commercialization strategy and
- make recommendations on how they could be better implemented particularly with regards to corporatization, new housing policy and skills mix, property audit and the privatization of FHA Mortgage Bank.
- Review the possibility of implementing the NCP approved strategy without necessarily repealing the FHA Act and be guided by legal advice in that regard.
- Review the relevant aspects of the on-going housing sector reform’s PDAT advisory work and make necessary recommendations, particularly with respect to the setting up of a regulatory regime and how FHA can play an effective role in a regulated and liberalized housing sector.
Meanwhile, arevenue task teams are to be set up in the Federal Housing Authority to raise the funds needed for the implementation of its 2016 budget, the Managing Director, Professor Mohammed Al- Amin has said.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with staff in Abuja, Al-Amin said the Authority just four months to implement the 2016 budget of N2.1 billion as the estimates were only approved in August.
Not being in budgetary appropriation from government, he said the Authority must tap every revenue source in order to be able to discharge its responsibilities.
Al-Amin expressed hope that staff demonstrated enough zeal in the revenue drive, the Authority would meet the targets of its 2016 Strategic Action Plan.
He said Management had set revenue targets for all the zonal offices and warned that the previous practice of spoon-feeding them by the head office was not sustainable.