Housing is one of the most important needs of man, next to food and clothing. Living in a comfortable and affordable house has, however, become of a source of worry for low income earners including civil servants. It is now luxury for this class of workers to live in Awka, Onitsha, and their satelites towns due to the current hike in rent.
Investigations show that a few years ago, a good two bedroom apartment in Awka was rented between two hundred thousand naira and two hundred and fifty thousand naira
Today, the same apartment goes between four and five hundred thousand naira, while a three bedroom apartment is way above five hundred thousand naira. These cost does not include the humongous amount you pay as agent and agreement fees as these houses are now sourced out to chain or network of middlemen
Sadly, these outrageous increments are beyond the reach of average civil servants or low income earner resident in the city, as it takes the large chunk of their annual salaries leaving them with little or nothing to cater for other needs
Consequently, many civil servants who lived in the capital city when house rent was relatively affordable have relocated to the hinterlands and adjoining towns, with most of them living in apartments that are barely habitable, since they are the ones their annual earnings can sustain
The dangerous effects of these hikes is that an average worker still living in the city could be doing private business to augment their earnings in order to pay for house rent which will affect their productivity, while those who depend solely on their salaries may be engaged in different corrupt practices in their various offices to overcome the challenge. A factor that will only entrench corruption in public service and make very difficult to root out
However, the current hike in house rent could be blamed on the high cost of building materials and greed on the part of many landlords who capitalize on the current economic situation in Nigeria to exploit their tenants, even when it is clear that some houses were built when the cost of building materials were not exorbitant
To solve this problem, Anambra State Government should partner the private sector to provide affordable housing units every year for the teeming civil servants, particularly those at lower cadre, to cushion the effects of development on them and to also make civil service more attractive. This measure will improve the quality of life of civil servants and their families, foster a multiplier effect on the economy and reduce corruption in the civil servic
More so, the Anambra State House of Assembly should enact a law to regulate the cost of house rents in Anambra State as it will checkmate landlords who arbitrarily increase rents out of greed. This regulation will provide valuation for houses to provide the average cost that will be charged for such apartments. These measures if well put in place and enforced, will go a long way to address the housing needs of the state workforce and the low income earners
Written by CHUKWUEMEKA MODILI
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CHUKWUEMEKA MODILIM
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