Anambra Housing Commissioner Asks Construction Professionals To Key Into Soludo’s Smart Megacity Philosophy
The Anambra State Commissioner of Housing, Barrister Paulinus Onyeka says experts in the construction sector would play important role in the smart megacity vision of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration.
Barrister Onyeka stated this when he played host to professionals in the construction industry, including architects, builders, engineers, estate surveyors, and quantity surveyors.
Addressing the visitors, the commissioner asked them to bring their experience and expertise to the table and cooperate with the new administration’s vision of making Anambra State a smart mega city and livable homeland for all.
He urged them to always stick to the ethics of their jobs, and to stare away from activities that give bad impression on their professions, including use of substandard materials and employment of methods that do not tally with modern day building practice.
The commissioner also stated that a codification system will be deployed to control illicit activities of property developers and quacks, adding that a new system is coming up to ensure that every new house constructed in Anambra State whether public or private is captured in the Ministry’s data bank for effective building control monitoring.
This, he said, will be supported by development control already handled by the Anambra State Physical Planning Authority [ANSPPA], noting that every site under construction must have a visible site signage containing the names and phone numbers, registration status and contact addresses of all the construction professionals engaged in them, as a way of tracking them and ensuring accountability.
In their separate remarks, some of the professionals, Engineers Akaolisa Ezeagu, Alex Chukwunwike and Odinaka Okonkwo, while commending the commissioner for bringing them together, said that the menace of quackery in the building profession must be tackled head-on and urged for more collaboration with regulatory agencies in the area of building material testing and control, with efficient material testing laboratories setup in various markets.
