Affordable housing a must for everyone

I AM disappointed to read the letter “State must build more houses to make it affordable” (The National, Sept 24) by “Dr Lagaip”.
The writer lost the plot by claiming the state is the major employer and it should build more houses for public servants.
The writer forgot that 6.5 million people of this country have equal right to move, live and do business anywhere in PNG.
The writer also forgot the bulk of the population is self-employed followed by the private sector.
The writer further proposed that those employed by the government (public servants), who are the main cause of corruption in PNG, be allowed to rent houses at a lower rate.
That is a slap in the face for taxpayers like me.
The writer appears to provide options to reduce real estate prices which I see as baseless and it will only increase corrupt practices at government offices at the expense of the silent majority who work hard to make ends meet each day in the most trying economic times in PNG.
Housing is not the issue.
The real issue is the urbanisation and real estate development given the 3% of the land in PNG is alienated but poorly administered by defunct administrative personnel through the state while 97% is customary land.
The writer needs to understand that most of the tangible and economic developments concentrate centrally on the limited alienated land apart from mining, petroleum and agricultural sectors.
The writer must bear in mind that the urbanisation and real estate development do not grow up but spread out over the land.
I think the elites of PNG in the likes of the writer should talk and provide constructive advice on addressing the acute land shortage among other issues and abstain from compounding problems further.
Let us have some sense when talking about issues affecting our country rather than talking too much about the by-product of the issues in real terms.

 
Native economist
Laiagam