By Frank Momoh
The Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engr Abubakar Aliyu, has called on Shelter-Afrique to employ more Nigerians to serve at the institution.
The Minister made the request during a courtesy visit to the Ministry’s Headquarters by the CEO of the organization, Mr. Andrew Chimphondah and his team.
Aliyu, I noted that the number of Nigerian personnel currently in the staff list of Shelter-Afrique was very small considering Nigeria’s immense contribution to the financial activities of the institute.
He urged the organization to use Nigeria’s contribution of $21 million to deliver affordable houses in Nigeria even he commended their gesture to reducing the current housing deficit in Nigeria.
The Minister, however, urged Shelter-Afrique to increase loans to interested mortgage Institutions in Nigerian in order to meet the need forthe provision of more houses to Nigeria’s teeming population.
He assured that Nigeria would meet up with its outstanding financial obligations to Shelter-Afrique in order to deliver innovative and sustainable housing delivery system in Africa.
Speaking earlier, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Shelter-Afrique, Andrew Chimphondah explained that Shelter-Afrique was a pan African finance institution exclusively supporting the development of housing and real estate in Africa.
He added that Nigeria was considered as a country endowed with large population where the project finance, institutional lending, equity finance and social housing thrive successfully, adding that, that informed the need to make the institution active in the Nigerian market.
Chimphondah stressed that the institution was focusing on the introduction of a new strategic plan primarily based on Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the delivery of affordable houses to member countries.