The IFHDA Context

In Africa, The system of land ownership determines access to land and land security.

The Initiative for Housing & Development in Africa (IFHDA) has facilitated an examination of the key issues encompassing housing delivery and ownership in the region which are laid out as  Sustainability, Poverty, Manufacturing Systems Engineering for housing, and the existing approach to Housing in the West African sub-region.

From this examination, it can be deduced that the most apparently workable sustainable housing model for the region is The Agro-Allied Farm Community.

STEP  BY STEP.

This Initiative recognizes poverty as a complex multidimensional problem, the resolution of which requires a specific anti-poverty strategy, itself a basic condition for ensuring sustainable development. It seeks to empower communities and local groups, and provide basic education and primary health care targeting the more than 1 billion people, or about one-sixth of the world’s population, who live under conditions of extreme poverty. Allowing the world's poor to create their own wealth is more sustainable than simply providing aid at times of crisis. (World Economic Survey, 2001)

Manufacturing Systems Engineering

For housing or house/building construction in the region, coupled with land reforms and innovation in land title regimes are the way forwards suggested by this research. As a recently recognized engineering function, manufacturing systems engineering (MSE) or prefabrication as an engineering system itself, emanates from the use of innovation or innovative approaches to manufacturing modernization adopting a systems approach.

One is able to discern 3 potential outcomes from this direction of endeavour as propagated by the IFHDA.

• The establishment of an ‘Federated Ecowas Housing Fund’, set up as an non profit Charity, to benefit all West Africans at home and in the Diaspora.

It will also empower the female co-occupants of the housing and provide access for all the stakeholders to clean water, power, adequate sanitation and education.

Finally, it will “bridge” the time lag inspired ‘financial credibility’ gap that currently militates against mortgage finance sources for housing, in the region, as the dwelling units will be ready the same month that money is paid for them. Local primary mortgage institutions/banks will thus have the confidence to finance the capital debt.

• A joint venture endeavour to be established to finance own and construct the various estates. The IFHDA envisages that it will harness innovation to move the aforementioned policy dictates forwards towards the establishment of a bridgehead for the Private Sector Construction Industry, and establish a presence through a collaborative joint venture between the major suppliers for the system housing, local property development companies in the West African region and the occupants/off-takers (owner occupiers themselves)

• The establishment of a Centre for Action Research into Sustainable Housing Development. [CARSHD]

Action research is suggested as an appropriate research methodology because of the need to involve the projected stakeholders in every facet of the innovation process. The research centre will be a collaboration between the IFHDA, collaborating state and regional governments and a chosen University academic faculty, in the region. (Currently Professor – and architect - Jason Mochache  of the dept architecture, University of Nairobi, is being approached)   The research centre IT network servers, computer hardware and findings/protocols will be housed in a series of Internet Ready Porta-Cabins specially prepared for the purpose and initially “docked” on the premises of a collaborating property development company in the various state capitals, that will be working with the IFHDA and the chosen University “technical partner.” All the collaborators will be hooked/linked into the servers by broadband access telephony, within the region and satellite access telephony to the field. (where appropriate)

The stakeholders involved, range from the d.u. owner occupiers/occupants, to the community workers, health workers, primary school staff, commercial centre operatives and housing management administrators, that will people the estates. Other stakeholders will be the involved Insurance sector corporate entities, possible external funding donors, the local contractors and the (state) local regional government agency partners, in all the respective locations that the ‘model’ communities will be established. The research centre, monitored by the University would be based on an internet linkage of all the built communities in order to allow the actual stakeholders a ‘voice’ to be heard on the real issues that affect them in their everyday lives, living in the sustainability “triangle” and to disseminate information on the outcomes of same. Thus the real outcomes of research endeavour would actually be evaluated by the owners of the outcomes, as opposed to interested third parties. Reflection on the outcomes can be guided, by the guiding academics/researchers and action evaluation and research carried out “on the ground” about sustainability and poverty issues, in real life settings.  Other interested development funding organisations can be approached for funding for this ‘virtual’ research centre.