RSG Secures 200 Houses For Public Servants

As construction work on the 730 housing units at the RIVTAF Gulf Estate located along Peter Odili Road in Port Harcourt commences, stakeholders are fashioning strategies for accessing the 200 units of houses set aside for public servants in Rivers State.

This was the basis of a meeting convened at the instance of the Head of Service, Barr. Samuel LongJohn and attended by the General Manager of the Rivers State Housing and Property Development Authority (RSHPDAL Arc. Iyerifaa Cookey-Gam, Executive Director of the Bureau on Public Private Partnership (BOPPPL Mrs. Anita Nwokeafor Laz, representatives of the/state Developers, First Bank and Aso Saving and Loans Plc.

Remarks, the Head of Service Samuel LongJohn, said in view of the importance attached by the state government to the provision of decent and affordable houses for public servants, it was necessary to ascertain the minimum affordable cost for each unit of the houses to enable him pass on the information to interested public servants.

According to him, one of the conditions to be met by successful public servants, who must have a minimum of 10 years in the service, is the payment of a certain amount for pre-qualification.

While highlighting the quality of the proposed estate, Executive Director of BOPPP, Mrs. Nwokeafor said the project, which is a public private partnership initiative between the state government and TAF Holding Company Limited, will be a ‘gated community’ with 24-hour power supply, a 6-hole Golf Course and an artificial lake, pointing out that out of the 730 housing units, 200 units of bedroom apartments and 104 units of three bedroom apartments would be set aside for public servants at a cost of N12 for the two bedroom and N19 million for the three bedroom apartments.

On his part, the estate developer, Mr. Mutapha Njie of TAF Holding Limited, who said that construction work             expressed hope that the bungalows would be ready for occupation by December this year while the entire project, which is based on a month contractual agreement, would be completed in less than 24 months.

To enable public servants access the houses at affordable prices, Mr. Daniels Emiri of Aso Savings and Loans Plc recommended a mortgage arrangement with Federal Mortgage Bank under the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme and a low interest rate of 6 per cent and a 30 year repayment period.

He explained that interested public servants are expected to pay an equity contribution of 30 per cent of the cost of the houses while the balance would be spread over the period of service, adding that those who could not afford the equity contribution may seek for loan in commercial banks.

Emiri said, in the alternative, the state government may assist by granting them loans that would be deducted from their salaries after undergoing a risk assessment as applicable in some states of the federation.

At the end of the deliberations, the head of service requested the General Manager of RSHPDA, Arc. Cookey-Gam to meet with the management of Aso Savings and Loans and the Federal Mortgage Bank to discuss the repayment schedule for the remaining 70 per cent and other charges involved, adding that the aim was to arrive at an affordable price for public servants to access the houses.