NHC ready to deliver outcomes

By BONNY BONSELLA
THERE is an air of freshness from nature’s bloom and colours in abundance in suburbia and the surrounding hills around Port Moresby.It is all thanks to a healthy period of rain experienced over the last month.
The same freshness can be seen at the National Housing Corporation (NHC) headquarters at Tokarara, where nicely trimmed reddish exorialinethe premises of the corporation- one of few Government institutions headquartered in a suburb outside of the traditional Waigani, Konedobu and downtown Port Moresby spaces.
There might be many who pass by there and think nothing much is happening inside the building. But there is definitely incremental game changing decisions nowtaking place within the housing organisation.
The old colonial building houses the Housing Minister’s office and the National Housing Commission, the predecessor of the National Housing Corporation which changed namein 1990.
The building was officially opened in 1976, a year after Independence, by Housing and Supply Minister Yano Belo (Kagua-Erave MP).
The Corporation has been accused of so many things these past years. Current Housing and Urbanization Minister John Kaupa wants to change the image of this government institution. He has brought some discipline into the organisation and his style of leadership has gained traction with moral and ethical ground rules, and even punditsnow beginning to see some daylight after years of subjective gloom and doom.
There is certainly promise of better times ahead judging by the positive feedback voiced by tenants and home buyers nationwide who have benefited greatly by the release of their titles by Minister Kaupa and Cooke after years of uncertainty and doubt.
The process of obtaining titles has been greatly improved, efficiency and transparency are now paramount, all these in part to a new management under no-nonsense Acting Managing Director Kenneth Cooke.
Cooke and Kaupa will shortly begin a tour of the regions to present more titles as Easter gifts to tenants and purchasers.
Cooke is a career officer who rose up the ranks since joining in 1985as a cadet sales officer at the former NCD office at Varahe Street, Gordons.
A strong Christian and devout family man, Cooke’s style of management is sending a strongsignal to all staff and stakeholders that there will be no tolerance of shortcuts or nepotism, both for individuals and businesses alike.
Cooke wants to see God-fearing NHC staff play a bigger hand to weed out bad attitudes in the workplace. He knows that only through, God, by God, and with God, things can change for the better in the organisation.
“It is not only an image problem we have because of the inherent issues we have carried over from the years, but the spiritual vacuum must be filled so all Christian believers must be encouraged to openly manifest their faith to change others around them and the work with honesty to ensure there is a complete change,” Cooke said.
“I believe God has plans for this institution. I believe God has redemption and healing and it is for us to submit to God to truly find solutions to all our problems so inherent it is threatening to become a culture. We need to start the process of change immediately and I as the new CEO, I want to set the example and set the process of change now then later,” Cooke said following his appointment.
Peoplewith dubious intentions were previously common along the corridors of NHC. These numbers, however, have drastically been reduced to zero in the last four months.
The clean-up of the corporation and government housing business has truly begun. Stories of illegal evictions in the daily papers are mostly actions in line with previous management decisions. Cooke is adamant to clean up the mess and restore some order.
In fact, common understanding and partnership between the minister and the CEO- in the absence of the board, is the prefect recipe and a healthy projection for the future success of NHC.
In the corporation’s past, the political and bureaucratic heads were at loggerheads and did not work together, resulting in delay or non-execution of much-needed government housing policies.
The biggest losers in the ugly scenario were the taxpayers and those who were, and still are in dire need of shelter. Building of new houses is still stuck in a policy paper. Public servants, many of whom have waited for many years are unable to fulfil their families’expectations of owning a home.
This Government has made some progress in the quest to find long-term solutions to the acute housing shortages affecting the country.
Its Durand Farm Public Housing project has had its fair share of challenges getting off the groundwith water and electricity reticulations still being worked on.
The project is a direct response by the government to find tangible housing solutions for the country with the expected delivery of over 3,000 houses for public servants and other citizens who will benefit through the Build-sell and share concept.
Such mega housing projects are not a new concept to PNG.
In 1993, the Wingti government, through then Housing Minister John Jaminan, commissioned a United Nations Development Program project to build 5,000 homes for middle to low income earners nationwide.
It was the headline story by leading journalist Sinclair Solomon at The National and read simply: “5,000 homes.”
The story coincidently shared the front page with a side story of PaiasWingti, the former Prime Minister launchingThe National on Nov 11, 1993.
Jaminan and the Government indicated their support of the project with a K10mstart-up capital from the World Bank 25 years ago. The housing estate however, never came to pass.
Like the framed news story that’s slowly collecting dust on the wall, the number of public servants has increased considerably over the past 30 years, although the number of houses has not done the same. There is a great shortage of housing facing most urban areas of the country right now.
Demand for low to medium housing is “frighteningly high,” according to Charles Hayes, a former NHC Board Chairman under Minister Jaminan, and who helped put together the submission for the World Bank initiative.
Well before Wingti’s time, the government of Somare and Chan in 1976/77made a policy decision to build new houses.
Lack of serious attention by Governments since Independence has resulted in the dilapidated and rapidly diminishing state of housing, impacting, even, the stock left behind by the colonial administration.
The high demand placed against the lack of supply has resulted in a high scramble for a commodity that barelyexists, hence, the opportunity to cash in by the unscrupulouswas rife.
Overtime,the negative perception about NHC eventually impededits mandate to provide social and economic rates for its services and its ability to collect its rightful rentals is being met by stubbornness to accept the Corporation as an entity of State that is obligated to collect rentals to sustain itself.
However, the Government has placed new emphasis and direction for housing as a tool for socio-economic empowerment for its citizens, particularly the hardworking public servants. The Durand Farm Public Housing Project at Eight Mile is a major investment in public sector housing by the current Government. It is strategically located in the Housing Minister John Kaupa’s electorate of Moresby North East.
Minister Kaupa and his CEO Cooke unison is now beginning to see good results.
An Economist may argue that a good house or home is the common denominator to a healthy and prosperous nation.In the same vein, a good home helps nurture a student to become an engineer tomorrow. A doctor will also owe it to the same.
To produce energetic and productive citizens,they must have good shelter to rest and recuperate well, in order to produce the best outputs in the workplace.
The socio-economic benefits ofhaving a decent house are immense.
In the 28 years since the establishment of NHC in 1990, there have been 15 Ministers and the same number of managing directors.
Political stability in government is giving people a higher hope of finally owning their own house, a place their children will call home.

• The writer is PR officer at NHC