AN INDUSTRY-BASED APPROACH TO CREATING AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR AWOMAMMA’SENIOR WORKERS (a case study of Nigeria breweries, Awommama)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Housing is an integral element of a nation’s economy and its backward and forward linkages with other parts of the economy closely bond people’s needs, demands and social processes. These linkages allow housing to act as an important engine for sustainable development and poverty reduction in both society and the economy, and without a functioning housing sector, urban centers cannot be established or developed. A functioning housing sector offers appropriate, affordable housing and sustainable patterns of urbanization which are critical for the future of our ever-urbanizing planet (Arias, 1993).
According to Aribigbola (2006) housing affordability has been widely recognized as an essential issue in creating sustainable built environment especially in the context of developing world cities. Mbamali and Obiekwe (2001) described affordable housing for a particular income group as the range of houses for which the total monthly repayment costs fall within the monthly repayment capability of the average household in that income group. For AHURI (2004) the rational for housing assistance is to improve housing affordability for those receiving the assistance. Kolawole et al (1998) stressed that, for housing to be affordable for certain level of households, there should be provision for subsidy.
In Nigeria, the national housing policy does not want any Nigerian to spend more than
30 percent of their income on housing expenditure (Aribigbola, 2006).In addition, the 1992 National Housing Strategy defined affordable housing as any housing costing less than 30% of income, though some level of workers have over 30% of their salary being deducted for the repayment of the houses allocated to them. This study sets out to ascertain if the civil servants‟ allotees of the Imo State housing scheme have capacity to afford the repayment schedule.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem.
Mabogunje (2004) stressed that the cost of providing a unit of housing remains out of the reach of the poor because of some other factors that are militating against affordable housing. Thus, brings in the financial dimension – the question of the affordability of housing. The challenge becomes not only to provide the houses but to make the houses affordable to the average Nigerian worker (Onyike, 2007).
However, the Nigeria breweries Housing Scheme was meant to provide senior workers with affordable housing; how affordable are these houses to the beneficiaries are yet to be ascertained.
