By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
Real estate developer, Lesuire Court Estate Limited, has trained housing reporters/ correspondents on how to report real estate stories.
The maiden edition of the capacity building workshop was organized by Leisure Court in collaboration with African Media Roundtable Initiative in Abuja yesterday.
The theme of the workshop was; “Promoting real estate investment through informed media alliance and sustained reporter’s professionalism through capacity building”.
Declaring the two days workshop opened, Managing Director/CEO Leisure Court Estate Limited , Bldr. Segun Abolaji said the workshop is aim at exposing housing journalists to skills of writing stories on real estate development and equipping them on promoting real estate investment contributions to the nation.
Abolaji also urged the federal government to step up efforts in regulating activities in the housing sector nationwide.
He said government should make access to land easier for developers as well put in place stringent measures that will help to control the increasing prices of building materials which make houses not affordable.
He explained that most of the challenges being experienced by developers in acquiring land for building of Estate was contributing to the constant rise in the cost of houses especially in highbrow areas.
Segun said, “The government should always regulate activities in housing sector especially the prices of building materials.
“Without government regulation it will be difficult to make houses available in the country, we don’t find it easy accessing land, so because of the challenges developers are forced to put their property on rooftop”.
In his presentation titled: ‘Journalism and business environment’ Dr Law Mefor called for a legislation that will check the activities that lead to building of structures that officials of government tagged illegal and demolish them without playing their monitoring role.
He blamed the alleged illegal structures on the government, saying officials of government have not been doing enough in monitoring.
Mefor said, “Officials of government are not doing enough in area of checking illegal structures, why most they allow buildings to be completed before calling them illegal and demolishing them.
“There should be stringent measures in place to be checking development especially building of structures, the situation is bringing about lack of shelter or shortage of houses.
“The government should construct mass houses that will cover all classes of individuals national wide and give them out on mortgage to people. Again, provision of infrastructure in areas earmarked for houses”
Also speaking , Austine Maho in his presentation called on journalists to always ensure that key issues that will bring out true position of things in housing sector are well reported.
“Journalists must observe the ABC of journalism which are Accuracy, Balance and Clarity”.
In his remarks, the chairman Property & Infrastructure Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria)PICAN), Tope Sunday said government and strategic stakeholders should work out ways that will promote subsidy in the built industry.
“Government and strategic stakeholders in the built environment should subsidy housing sector, it will help to provide enough houses nationwide”.
