Recently,
Edo State
celebrated the World Habitat Day with the rest of the world. This year’s theme which was tagged Harmonious Cities, was geared towards creating awareness, and with a view to encourage reflection on the challenges of socio-economic inequality, environmental sustainability and loss of culture.
The United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution in 1985 declaring every first Monday of October, every year as the World Habitat Day. But what we have observed is most of our towns are in decay as the cities are bedeviled with slum, crime waves, inadequate housing beset with over-crowding, upsurge of social disorder.
Government is not unaware of these problems, hence, the steps taken by successive governments to address the problems over the years, with a view to tackling them head long and ameliorating them. The present administration in the state has embarked on a Housing delivery programme in conjuction with Union House Saving Loans Bank Plc for the construction of 300 Housing Units of different categories at Ugbihoko Housing Estate, Benin City. In addition to this is the development of Cottage Estate in the local government headquarters using local materials to achieve Rural Housing programme.
At the occasion, it was also brought to the knowledge of all that the state government intends implementing the Resolution of the State House of Assembly that both the State Government and the Local Government Councils be involved in State Housing programme.
However, while the government is busy making these efforts, citizens should endeavour to keep the environment clean by disposing refuse in designated site, avoid building on natural drainage channels (moats) in our cities, desist from defacing public buildings, and vandalising infrastructure.
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