ONDO State Governor, Honourable Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa recently approved an additional sum of N500 million seed fund to boost the state’s Car and Housing Loan Schemes for public workers. The governor’s gesture represents the injection of an extra N500 million into the existing car and housing loan packages in the state.
THE State Head of Service, Chief Segun Odusanya who disclosed this while briefing journalists on activities lined up for the just concluded Annual Ondo State Public Service Week Celebrations, said the approval aimed at improving workers’ welfare and productivity, adding that the Governor Ayedatiwa-led administration had consistently prioritised the welfare of workers and pensioners in the state.
ACCORDING to Odusanya, the decision followed the governor’s recognition that the existing rates were no longer in conformity with prevailing economic realities.
ODUSANYA noted that the existing ceiling for the car and housing loan schemes could no longer adequately serve the purposes for which they were established as their value had been significantly eroded overtime. To ensure sustainability, the state government equally institutionalized annual budgetary provisions for the schemes.
IT is imperative to note that the Ondo State Car and Housing Loan Schemes dates back to the establishment of the state’s public service in 1976, following the creation of Ondo State out of the Old Western Region. The administrative structure of Ondo State Civil Service inherited its welfare, staff-advance and loan frameworks from the legacy public service of the former Western Region, which modeled its bureaucracy after the British Civil Service system.
SUCCESSIVE state administrations subsequently formalised and periodically recapitalised the car and housing loan packages as part of broader statutory staff welfare and retention strategies for civil servants and teachers.
FOR instance in 2013, the then administration of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko implemented an upward review of car and housing loans for public workers in the state. The review, which equally included the incorporation of primary school teachers into the existing loan scheme had since lost its purchasing value due to inflation and rising costs of vehicles and construction.
THE HOPE commends Governor Aiyedatiwa for this laudable gesture as it reflects his administration’s unwavering commitment to significantly improve the welfare of public workers in the state. Additionally, the N500 million seed fund approved by the governor will provide direct economic and social relief to public workers. The gesture will invariably combat inflation as it makes the loan amounts realistic enough to actually purchase vehicles or support housing projects in the current economy.
FURTHERMORE, a larger seed pool allows a greater percentage of public workers and teachers to qualify for and receive disbursements rather than waiting in long backlogs. The intervention equally improves employees’ satisfaction, which will ultimately translate to higher motivation, reduced financial stress and better commitment to government service delivery.
WE implore public workers in the state not to expend the loans on frivolities, but ensure judicious utilisation of the funds while reciprocating the government’s intervention with greater dedication to duties and commitment to improve service delivery.
THE HOPE urges the state government to partner automobile companies towards the establishment of indigenous motor assembly plants. This initiative, if implemented under a Public- Private -Partnership (PPP) agreement could ensure the local assembly of motor vehicles, thereby reducing significantly the cost of automobiles.
THE Ondo State Government’s resolve to provide affordable mass transportation, including the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses and low-cost housing for workers as part of its broader workers’ welfare and public service reform agenda is a welcome development. Such intervention will undoubtedly ease transportation and accommodation challenges facing public workers, thereby enabling them perform optimally in their respective duty posts.
AGAINST this backdrop, the Governor Ayedatiwa-led administration has reiterated its commitment to exploring feasible approaches towards expanding access to affordable housing, including the possibility of developing low-cost housing estates for public workers. While recognizing the challenges many public workers face in securing decent and affordable accommodation, government emphasised that the existing housing loans scheme is a component of its broader intervention in the housing sector.
ADDITIONALLY, the state government runs the Home Ownership Charter of Ondo State (HOCOS) through the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service to help residents regularize property titles and obtain Certificates of Occupancy. It has equally partnered with the Federal Housing Authority to allocate 100 hectares of land across Akure, Ikare, Ore and Ugbo for the construction of 1,000 affordable housing units.
THE government’s intervention is ultimately intended to restore the effectiveness of the loan schemes and make them more beneficial to workers in the state’s public service.