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Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), yesterday, enlisted the assistance and collaboration of the State's chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors in the administration and valuation of the State's Land Use Charge, the renewal of which is due in January next year.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), yesterday, enlisted the assistance and collaboration of the State's chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors in the administration and valuation of the State's Land Use Charge, the renewal of which is due in January next year.
Fashola, who spoke when he received the executives of the chapter who were in his office on a courtesy call, said in spite of the continued increase in the value of property in the state, the charges on land had remained at less than one per cent.
The governor, however, added that this was as a result of the agreement with stakeholders as a compromise to get out of litigation, adding that the agreement also included the fact that the Act would be renewed every seven years.
'It is important that you assist us in devising a model that will be both fair to the citizens and also enable Government to discharge its responsibilities to the people, because it is only through this tax - property tax - that we can do what we need to do, a lot more than Lagosians expect us to do,' he said.
According to Governor Fashola, 'Even if we borrow, as we are going through bond, we have to pay back. The pay back will not come from our salaries. From land, we create security and mortgages.'
Emphasizing the importance of land to the economy of any nation, Fashola declared: 'The whole of the capitals of Europe and America is predicated on land.The whole of the economy thrives on credit which is secured by land,' adding that capitalism could only begin to thrive in this part of the world on adoption of an appropriate model of financing projects.
Such appropriate long-term financing model, Fashola said, was necessary in order to pay for the development of infrastructure such as road constructions, adding that it would also ensure that a steady stream of income is got from property to enable government continue to increase value of service.
The governor noted that in all the places where the impact of government has been felt across the state, the value of property has gone up, but regretted that the property owners were still being asked to pay the old rate of land use charge in spite of the increase in value of their property.
'We have not changed the rate, but certainly the amount you paid when you did not have the value should not remain the amount you pay when value has been added to the property as a result of our activities. If you have taken the value, you must take the responsibility,' the governor said.
He urged the Quantity Surveyors to advise their clients to reciprocate government gesture by giving back the amount commensurate with the value added to their property, adding, 'If their rental income increases by what we do, they must empower us to continue to increase the rental income, because we are adding value to their property.'
Noting that land rate has gone up in the last one year, Governor Fashola, however, said the government has not increased its land charges 'because we are here to maintain social balance and provide security and sustainable quality of life for the people.'
Welcoming the offer of partnership by the Institute, Governor Fashola declared: 'We are not competing with the Private sector, we take them as our critical partner and wherever they can compete for profit we let them, we don't go there. But we will give our support to ensure that while they are providing private housing on competitive and commercial basis, we are providing social housing on sustainable basis.'
On the request of the Institute to create an Office of the Quantity Surveyor-General of the State, the Governor declared, 'The important thing is service, you don't need a title to serve. Some people who are not in this government have contributed very useful ideas that have helped to promote service to our people. It is not the title, but passion that does the job.'
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the State Chapter of the Institute, Mr. Wasiu Akewusola, asked the governor, among other things, to review the present planning approval process 'to integrate cost estimate endured by a Registered Quantity Surveyor as part of the requirement to obtain planning approval, to amend the Edict setting up the State Tenders Board to include a quantity surveyor as the prime professional on the board.
He also urged the governor to ensure that all local government councils and development areas in the state, have Council Quantity Surveyors, who will be a principal officer responsible for management of cost and procurement of capital project on that level'.
The high-powered delegation was led by the National President of the Institute, Mr. Francis Adelola, who, while presenting an award later to the governor, on behalf of the Institute, for his achievements in the last one year, recalled that he was in Ghana recently for a seminar and the governor's name was mentioned all over the place on account of his (Fashola's) outstanding performance in the state.