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Propertymart aligns with World Bank recommendation on addressing housing crisis

Michael Simire
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Propertymart aligns with World Bank recommendation on addressing housing crisis

With a population of about 173 million people, Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and accounts for 47% of West Africa’s population. It is also the biggest oil exporter in Africa, with the largest natural gas reserves in the continent. The challenging process of implementing reforms was revitalised through a Roadmap developed in 2010, which clearly outlines the government’s strategy and actions for implementing comprehensive power sector reforms to expand supply, open the door to private investment and address some of the chronic sector issues hampering improvement of service delivery – one of which is housing.

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World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim

Nigeria’s population is growing and moving into urban areas rapidly. This puts a double strain on existing housing resources. Nigeria, just like many other countries of the world, is unable to keep up with the demand, and the result is burgeoning areas of informal housing, overcrowding, and slums.

Available statistics on Nigeria’s housing deficit paint a grim picture, with data (for 2014) from the World Bank and the National Bureau of Statistics agreeing that Nigeria has an estimated housing deficit of over 17 million units. With a population of almost 180 million, according to data from the United Nations, an annual population growth rate of 2.8 per cent (2015) and an annual urban population growth rate of 4.7 per cent, the nation needs to stop talking and start building.

This is more so as global trends show that the world is experiencing a housing crisis and various countries, especially in the global south, have approached the issue with the urgency it requires. According to UN statistics, about 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing globally, while over 100 million are homeless. Nigeria hosts an uncomfortably large percentage of these two, with over 100 million Nigerians considered to live in substandard housing.

Nigeria’s housing problems are severe; even by continental parameters. For instance, according to former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s size of mortgage finance (as a share of Gross Domestic Product) is 0.5%; compared to 2% for Ghana and same 2% for Botswana. In a paper – ‘Unleashing the Housing Sector in Nigeria and in Africa’, presented last year at the 6th Global Housing Finance Conference in Washington DC, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also pointed out that these figures contrast sharply with estimated mortgage finance to GDP ratio of 80% for the UK, 77% for the USA and an average of 50% across Europe. Nigeria’s abysmal ranking on the mortgage finance scale show that the several mortgage financing initiatives by successive governments in the country have failed.

Other major factors for the country’s housing crisis include: the high cost of construction and an expensive cumbersome process of processing land documents and registering a property. In Nigeria, the high costs of skilled labour and building materials make the country one of the most expensive to build a house in.

According to the World Bank, addressing these challenges requires large-scale investment in housing production. The international organisation adds that governments alone cannot meet this burden, so private sector funds need to be channeled into housing investment. This requires a housing finance system to be functional for home buyers and real estate developers.

This fact was attested to by Acting Managing Director of Propertymart Real Estate Investment Limited, Mr Fasunwon Deji, who agreed with the World Bank notion that one of the key challenges is overcoming the obstacles to creating a functioning housing finance market. These obstacles may include lack of credit risk management tools, difficulties foreclosing on property, difficulties registering title and land, lack of capacity among lenders, affordability when interest rates and inflation are high; and, probably most critical of all, lack of access to long-term finance.

Mr Fasunwon says that another challenge is how to develop affordable housing solutions for lower and informal income groups, which is one of the priority areas of Propertymart, which is typified by the “Jewel Bungalows”, its newest initiative located within the exclusive Cranbel Court Estate in the New Makun City of the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC), along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Indeed, he adds that housing finance for the poor as well as supplying affordable housing will add up to creating systems that address the needs of households at different income levels, yet also building a system that can be sustained, scaled up, and oriented to the private sector.

Dangote’s life is an inspiration to many, says Tinubu

Michael Simire
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Dangote’s life is an inspiration to many, says Tinubu

Former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has congratulated astute businessman and philantrophist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on his 60th birthday, descibing him as an inspiration to many people.

Aliko-Dangote
Alhaji Aliko Dangote

Dangote clocks 60 on Monday, April 10, 2017. In a letter to Dangote personally signed by him, Asiwaju Tinubu commended the business mogul for his boldness and bravery in taking the business risks he took, which he said have now paid off.

The All Progressives National Congress (APC) national stalwart said Dangote has broken all business barriers and is now helping to industrialise Africa, with the operations of his Dangote Group in 17 African countries and beyond.

In the letter dated Sunday, April 9, 2017 and released in a statement by his Media Office, Tinubu said: “Dear Alhaji Dangote, my family and I congratulate you on your 60th birthday.

“Your life has been an inspiration to many. From a lowly background, you rose to the top by dint of hard work and perseverance.

“The boldness and bravery you demonstrated in taking the business risks you took have paid off.  You have shown that with resilience, we can always convert risks and challenges to opportunities.

“Today, you are that African man that has broken all barriers. With operations in over 17 African countries including Nigeria, the awesome Dangote Group you established is helping to industrialise Africa.

“You have made people and made lives a lot better through the employment opportunities you have created and your other humanitarian activities.

“I wish you many more years in life. I pray that Allah grants all you need to continue to impact the lives of many more people.”

Government to demarcate cattle routes nationwide

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Government to demarcate cattle routes nationwide

The Federal Government says that it will demarcate 6,000km cattle routes across the country in 2017.

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Herdsmen grazing their cattle

Alhaji Mahmud Bello, the National Coordinator, Grazing Stock Routes, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Mararaba Dajin, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

Bello said: “We are going to provide 6,000 kilometres of cattle routes across the country; we are going to open the primary routes first, while the state and local governments are expected to launch the secondary routes.

“By the time we identify the primary stock routes, being frequently used, we will develop them.

“All the same, all the states may not have an equal share of the routes; Bauchi may have 200 kilometres and Plateau may have 50 kilometres but we are going to spread it.”

Bello said that the cattle routes were aimed at boosting livestock production, adding that crop farming had benefited a lot from the agricultural policies of the previous administrations.

He said that the ministry would also improve the genetic resources of the indigenous cow, which was currently producing 1.5 litres of milk per day, to enable it to produce 25 litres of milk per day.

According to him, the new plans will prevent people, particularly farmers, from encroaching into stock routes, grazing areas and selling those areas that have been mapped out as graving reserves since 1962.

Bello said that dams, boreholes, grazing reserves, stock routes and other facilities, which the government had earlier provided for the pastoralists, would be handed over to them for optimal utilisation.

He noted that such facilities were hitherto abandoned by herdsmen who decided to migrate to other areas, thereby resulting in their clashes with farmers.

He said: “This time around, the Federal Government will strive to hand over all the facilities to the pastoralists so as to enable them to take care of them.

“Besides, we are going to develop 50 hectares of land as pasture development centres for seed multiplication in all the grazing reserves in the country.

“The centres will serve as seed banks for commercial pasture production, as part of the goals of the proposed youth empowerment programme.”

Bello recalled that the Federal Government had, in 2016, requested state governments to provide 5,000 hectares of land within their grazing reserves for commercial pasture production.

He said that when the pasture development project was executed, it would encourage pastoralists, who were migrating in search of pasture and water for their animals, to settle down in one place.

He said that in 2016, the ministry carried out a public sensitisation campaign on the programme in 10 states, adding that it was currently carrying out the campaign in five other states.

COP12 explores measures to curb consumption of ‘aquatic bushmeat’

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COP12 explores measures to curb consumption of ‘aquatic bushmeat’

Bothered by what it terms unsustainable consumption of the meat of some marine, coastal and estuarine animal species, a Swiss non-profit conservation organisation has called for measures to address the situation and save the animals from extinction.

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Aquatic bushmeat: The West African manatee. Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows.

Some of the endangered animals regularly hunted and consumed as aquatic bushmeat include the manatee, five species of turtle, seven species of dolphin and one species of crocodile.

At a side-event during the 12th Conference of the Parties (COP12) to the Convention for Cooperation in the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Atlantic Coast of the West, Central and Southern Africa Region (or simply “Abidjan Convention”) that held March 27-31, 2017 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, OceanCare wants international mechanisms to wade in and give the issue a strategic focus.

The international mechanisms, according to OceanCare, are:

  • Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS),
  • Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES),
  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), and
  • Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPSWM), a joint body of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

Ocean Policy Consultant to Oceancare, Joanna Toole, says that while the CMS and its regional agreements for marine turtles, marine mammals and waterbirds should provide the Abidjan Convention region with crucial support to both develop local solutions and to support negotiations with distant water fishing countries, the CITES and UNODC should consider the impact of international trade as a result of aquatic bushmeat.

“Importantly, the CPSWM must also pay attention, as they need to broaden the definition and discussion of bushmeat to formally encompass aquatic species and the impact of distant water industrialised fishing nets, so that the Abidjan Convention and Governments in the region can access resources to help them address this problem,” Ms. Toole stresses.

She adds that, at the regional level, OceanCare would love to see State Parties implementing the African Strategy to Combat Illegal and Unlawful Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora in Africa. “We believe that aquatic bushmeat is an important issue to be prioritised within the implementation of this strategy,” she submits.

Indeed, she wants a strategic partnership comprising concerned organisations, bodies and mechanisms, and led by the Abidjan Convention secretariat.

“An Action Plan developed by such a partnership would be the best way to incorporate all the different strands of work that should happen collaboratively to effectively address this critical conservation development issue of aquatic bushmeat,” she says.

Toole likewise underscores the need to reduce distant water industrialised fishing pressure on already impoverished people, who she says have little choice but turn in greater numbers to harvesting and consuming aquatic bushmeat.

The term “aquatic bushmeat” is derived as the aquatic equivalent of the terrestrial “bushmeat” – the meat of wild animals that has, for generations, been an important part of the diet of numerous indigenous and local communities in equatorial rainforest and savannah regions.

Renewable power capacity surges amid falling costs

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Renewable power capacity surges amid falling costs

As the cost of clean technology continues to fall, the world added record levels of renewable energy capacity in 2016, at an investment level 23 per cent lower than the previous year, according to new research published on Thursday, April 6, 2017 by UN Environment, the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

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Wind, solar and other renewable energy sources added 138GW to global power capacity in 2016, up 8% from the 127.5GW added in 2015. Photo credit: offshorewind.biz

“Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2017” finds that wind, solar, biomass and waste-to-energy, geothermal, small hydro and marine sources added 138.5 gigawatts to global power capacity in 2016, up 8 per cent from the 127.5 gigawatts added the year before. The added generating capacity roughly equals that of the world’s 16 largest existing power producing facilities combined.

Investment in renewables capacity was roughly double that in fossil fuel generation; the corresponding new capacity from renewables was equivalent to 55 per cent of all new power, the highest to date. The proportion of electricity coming from renewables excluding large hydro rose from 10.3 per cent to 11.3 per cent. This prevented the emission of an estimated 1.7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide.

The total investment was $241.6 billion (excluding large hydro), the lowest since 2013. This was in large part a result of falling costs: the average dollar capital expenditure per megawatt for solar photovoltaics and wind dropped by over 10 per cent.

“Ever-cheaper clean tech provides a real opportunity for investors to get more for less,” said Erik Solheim, Executive Director of UN Environment. “This is exactly the kind of situation, where the needs of profit and people meet, that will drive the shift to a better world for all.”

New investment in solar totalled $113.7 billion, down by 34 per cent from the record high in 2015. Solar capacity additions, however, rose to an all-time high of 75 gigawatts. Wind made up $112.5 billion of investment globally, down 9 per cent; wind capacity additions fell to 54 gigawatts from the previous year’s high of 63 gigawatts.

“The investor hunger for existing wind and solar farms is a strong signal for the world to move to renewables,” said Prof. Udo Steffens, President of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, commenting on record acquisition activity in the clean power sector, which rose 17 per cent to $110.2 billion.

While much of the drop in financing was due to reduced technology costs, the report documented a slowdown in China, Japan and some emerging markets, for a variety of reasons.

Renewable energy investment in developing countries fell 30 per cent to $117 billion, while those in developed economies dropped 14 per cent to $125 billion. China saw investment drop 32 per cent to $78.3 billion, breaking an 11-year rising trend.

Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, South Africa and Morocco all saw falls of 60 per cent or more, due to slower than expected growth in electricity demand, and delays to auctions and financings. Jordan was one of the few new markets to buck the trend, investment there rising 148 per cent to $1.2 billion.

The US saw commitments slip 10 per cent to $46.4 billion, as developers took their time to build out projects to benefit from the five-year extension of the tax credit system. Japan slumped 56 per cent to $14.4 billion.

“The question always used to be ‘will renewables ever be grid competitive?’,” said Michael Liebreich, Chairman of the Advisory Board at BNEF. “Well, after the dramatic cost reductions of the past few years, unsubsidised wind and solar can provide the lowest cost new electrical power in an increasing number of countries, even in the developing world – sometimes by a factor of two.”

“It’s a whole new world: even though investment is down, annual installations are still up; instead of having to subsidise renewables, now authorities may have to subsidise natural gas plants to help them provide grid reliability.”

Recent figures from the International Energy Agency cited the switch to renewables as one of the main reasons for greenhouse gas emissions staying flat in 2016, for the third year running, even though output in the global economy rose by 3.1 per cent.

Investment in renewables did not drop across the board. Europe enjoyed a 3 per cent increase to $59.8 billion, led by the UK ($24 billion) and Germany ($13.2 billion). Offshore wind ($25.9 billion) dominated Europe’s investment, up 53 per cent thanks to mega-arrays such as the 1.2 gigawatt Hornsea project in the North Sea, estimated to cost $5.7 billion. China also invested $4.1 billion in offshore wind, its highest figure to date.

Another positive sign came in winning bids for solar and wind in auctions around the world, at tariffs that would have seemed inconceivably low a few years ago. The records set last year were $29.10 per megawatt hour for solar in Chile and $30 per megawatt hour for onshore wind in Morocco.

South African court lifts ban on trade in rhino horns

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South African court lifts ban on trade in rhino horns

South Africa’s constitutional court on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 rejected an attempt by the government to keep a ban on the domestic trade in rhino horns. This is the outcome of a long legal battle with John Hume, the world’s largest rhino breeder.

Dehorning-Rhino
A rhino being de-horned

The ruling that the application be dismissed means that rhino horns can effectively be traded in the country.

John Hume and other rhino breeders argue that legalising the trade could cut the number of rhinos slaughtered as horns can be sawn off from anaesthetised live animals.

However, many conservationists disagree with the proposed policy.

The Department of Environmental Affairs said the authorities are still considering the implications of Wednesday’s judgement. “It is important to note that permits are required to sell or buy rhino horn,” the Department’s spokesman, Albie Modise, said in a statement.

The ruling only applies to the industry in South Africa as a ban on international trade remains in force.

Rhino breeders who have argued that open trade is the only way to prevent widespread slaughter of the animal welcomed the ruling, arguing that the process is not permanent as the horns grow back.

South Africa is thought to be home to around 20,000 rhinos, around 80% of the worldwide population. More than 1,000 rhinos were killed by poachers in South Africa in 2016.

Until 2008, it was legal to sell rhino horn within South Africa. That year, 83 rhinos were poached. Then in 2009, in an attempt to stop the poaching, the South African government introduced a domestic ban restricting the trade in horn in the country. That year, 122 rhinos were poached in South Africa.

In 2010, there were 333 rhinos poached. In 2011, there were 448 rhinos poached. In 2012, there were 668 rhinos poached. In 2013, there were 1004 rhinos poached.

Every year since, the numbers of poached rhinos in South Africa have been well over 1,000 each year.

After a long legal battle with rhino breeder John Hume, the government’s appeal to keep the ban in place was rejected by the court. Now, it is legal to sell rhino horn again in the country.

Indian girl discovered living in forest with monkeys

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Indian girl discovered living in forest with monkeys

Indian police are reviewing reports of missing children to try to identify a girl who was found living in a forest with a group of monkeys.

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The Indian girl sits on a bed in a hospital

The girl, believed to be 10 to 12 years old, was unable to speak, was wearing no clothes and was emaciated when she was discovered in January and taken to a hospital in Bahraich, a town in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India.

She behaved like an animal, running on her arms and legs and eating food off the floor with her mouth, said D.K. Singh, chief medical superintendent of the government-run hospital.

After treatment, she has begun walking normally and eating with her hands.

“She is still not able to speak, but understands whatever you tell her and even smiles,” Singh said.

Some woodcutters spotted the girl roaming with monkeys, police officer Dinesh Tripathi told The Associated Press.

“They said the girl was naked and was very comfortable in the company of monkeys. When they tried to rescue the girl, they were chased away by the monkeys,” the officer said.

She was rescued later by a police officer in the Katarniya Ghat forest range. “When he called the girl, the monkeys attacked him but he was able to rescue the girl. He sped away with her in his police car while the monkeys gave chase,” Tripathi said.

He said police are trying to determine how the girl got into the forest and who her parents are.
She will be sent to a home for juveniles until she is identified, Singh said.

Courtesy: TIME.com

How Pacific whales help mitigate climate change

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How Pacific whales help mitigate climate change

What do whale excrement and climate change have in common? More than you may think, according to a special report on Climate Change and Whales that was presented before the “Whales in a Changing Ocean Conference” on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 in Tonga.

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Pacific whales

Climate change impacts are far reaching, touching the lives of Pacific islanders as well as Pacific whales. Warmer waters are expected to bring about a change in the distribution of many whale species, their food chain may be disrupted and there may be increased competition between species which occupy separate spaces. Further to that changes in human behaviour because of climate change may see an increase in encroachment of human activities upon whale habitats.

“Of all the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities, the ocean has absorbed approximately one-third and continues to do so,” presented Angela Martin of Blue Climate Solutions who developed the report in partnership with Ms Natalie Barefoot of CET Law, for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“Although there is much still to understand, by exploring and identifying the potential direct and indirect impacts of climate change on whales, and the related consequences on whale-watching economies, we can work towards identifying solutions for humans and whales alike.”

So where does the whale excrement, or whale poo, fit into this?

Whale poo, described as flocculant fecal plumes, is rich with nutrients, so much so, it has been described as miracle grow for the ocean. It enables growth of phytoplankton, which takes carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, out of the atmosphere and, can carry the carbon to the ocean floor.

In the Southern Ocean, a study has reported that sperm whales enable as much carbon to be captured as is sequestered in 694 acres of forests in the United States, each year.

A newer figure presented to the Whales in a Changing Ocean conference outlined that, just by swimming, 80 sperm whales in Hawaii enable 60 tonnes of carbon to be captured each year.  This is equivalent to carbon sequestered by 208 acres of forests in the US in a single year.

“I think this is really welcoming news – we are small islands with big oceans, now trying to meet our Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement,” said Fakavae Taomia, Permanent Secretary for the Office of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu.

“We would like to know how much of our ocean carbon accounting can help us in this, while also strengthening our conservation practices in sustainably managing our whales.  We would like to further explore this and this report is a good first step from SPREP.”

Whales also contribute to the ocean’s carbon storage capacity by storing large amounts of organic carbon, passed along through food chains, in their bodies.

“As well as storing carbon in the ocean during their long lifespans, when whale carcasses sink, the carbon stored in their biomass can enter sediments,” presented Martin.

“According to one study in 2010, eight species of baleen whale globally can store as much carbon as 100,000 acres of U.S. forests in one year. This is one way that carbon is effectively retired from the carbon cycle, and is unlikely to re-emerge as a greenhouse gas for hundreds to thousands of years.”

In other words, the more we protect and save our whales, the more they also protect and save humans.

The report, developed by Blue Climate Solutions and CET Law for SPREP, was funded by Fonds Pacifique.  It will be launched during the UN Ocean Conference at the UN Headquarters in June this year.

So now we know the value of whales in helping to address climate change, the world may just want to band together even more to protect both our ocean and our whales.

“Since restoration of whale populations could help mitigate global warming, it is worth considering that activities that negatively impact whale populations also limit their mitigation potential,” presented Ms Martin.

“Climate adaptation discussions, plans and frameworks could tap into the potential of whales and their blue carbon services, while research and projects that aim to preserve and restore healthy whale populations for their carbon sequestration services, would have co-benefits for the whale-watching economy.”

A special session on Whales and Climate Change was held during the Whales in a Changing Ocean Conference in Nuku’alofa, Tonga.

Paris Agreement: No new coal plants after 2020 in Europe, say energy producers

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Paris Agreement: No new coal plants after 2020 in Europe, say energy producers

Leading energy companies in Europe have announced that they will build no new coal-fired power plants in the European Union after 2020, in support of the goals agreed by international community under the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.

coal-plant
A power plant fired by coal

The central goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep the maximum global average temperature rise as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions from coal are a primary cause of climate change which is leading to more extreme weather around the world, including storms, droughts and flooding.

In a statement published on Wednesday, April 5 2017, the Union of the Electricity Industry (EURELECTRIC), which represents 3,500 companies across Europe with an aggregate turnover of €200 billion, said: “The European electricity sector believes that achieving the decarbonisation objectives agreed in the Paris Agreement is essential to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the global economy. EURELECTRIC’s members are committed to delivering a carbon neutral power supply in Europe by 2050, and to ensuring a competitively priced and reliable electricity supply throughout the integrated European energy market.”

In the message, the energy leaders say the European power sector is determined to lead the energy transition and to back their commitment to the low- carbon economy with concrete action:

“This commitment to decarbonise electricity generation, together with the electrification of key sectors, such as heating, cooling and transport, will make a major contribution to help Europe meet its climate change targets. Electricity is on track to becoming a carbon neutral energy carrier and, if used more widely, will open the door for many more positive changes, spill-overs in sectors which currently have no prospect of becoming fully sustainable.”

The energy leaders also make the case for emissions trading and other market-based mechanisms, and push for more ambition of the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS):

“EURELECTRIC  believes  that  market-based  mechanisms  such  as  carbon  markets  are  the  most  cost-effective and efficient tool for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and stimulating investments in low carbon technologies and energy efficiency. Only the combination of an effectively reformed EU ETS  and  improved  EU  electricity  market  design  can  lead  to  sustainable  and  credible  carbon  price signals to drive investments to mature low carbon technologies.”

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