New Telegraph

CBN targets 2.5m jobs with housing fund

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a family homes financing initiative, which, according to the apex bank, is aimed at creating 2.5million direct and indirect jobs. The apex bank, which stated this in the guidelines for the implementation of the initiative it released yesterday, said that the construction finance facility was introduced to enable the Family Homes Fund Ltd (FHFL) implement the Federal Government’s Social Housing Programme as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan(ESP) 2020.

The Social Housing Programme seeks to fast track the deployment of 300,000 homes in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory and to create up to up to 1.5million jobs in five years. Specifically, the CBN said that the family homes financing initiative, which will be implemented in collaboration with FHFL (lead developer), is aimed at “creating rapidly, up to 1.5 million direct construction sector jobs (at the rate of five jobs/home) particularly young people on low income.

In addition, the programme has potential to create a further one million jobs through its supply chain.” Furthermore, it said the programme, which will house up to 900,000 children and adults (at an average of three persons/home) on low income, was designed to boost local manufacturing, by utilizing at least 90per cent locally manufactured inputs thereby conserving foreign exchange.

“The programme will deliberately aim to revitalize local manufacture of construction materials including doors and windows, ironmongery, sanitary fittings, concrete products, tiles, glass, electrical fittings/ fixtures and bricks etc.,” the CBN said. On financing under the initiative, it said: “Funds would be released to FHF on project basis subject to the cumulative maximum limit of N200 billion,” adding that “a project is defined as cluster of homes in the same geographical location and covered with the same title documents and approvals.”

The CBN put the tenor for the funding at three years from date of disbursement, while interest rate under the intervention “shall be at not more than 5.0 per cent p.a. (all inclusive).” In addition, it said loans related to any batch should be repaid in not more than three installments within the tenor of the facility.

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