By  ENYIM ENYIM
ONITSHA—Anambra State House of Assembly Committee on Housing has blamed the failure of the state government to provide houses for the citizenry over the years on poor housing policy.

Chairman of the committee, Mr Emeka Anohu, stated this when members visited the Ministry and Housing Corporation on a familiarization tour.

He said faulty government housing policy is largely responsible for the inability of successive governments to complete one of the many housing projects scattered all over the state.

He said: ” Our housing policy has failed totally. The step being taken for home for all in Anambra State is faulty and something has to be done urgently.”

He called on the Ministry and the housing corporation to jointly initiate and present a bill on a new housing policy for immediate passage into law in the interest of people of the state.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Gloria Okeke, earlier told the committee that the inability of the ministry to live up to expectation of its duties was due to an archaic housing policy that needed to be renewed.

Besides, Okeke appealed to the lawmakers to assist the ministry in ensuring that funds were released to it on quarterly basis, adding that though approval had been given for employment, the Ministry had shortage of personnel that had affected its operations.

Okeke said also that the Ministry had the problem of land in many communities which refused to release their land for development.

At the housing corporation, the acting Manager Director, Mr Emeka Oliobi, also conceded that housing projects in the state were at snail speed because of bad housing policy.