The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, has urged state government fighting for the attention of foreign direct investors (FDIs) to first address the numerous problems facing local direct investors (LDIs).
The Mayor of Housing said in an interview with journalists in Port Harcourt that most foreign investors usually contact resident or local investors to find out the state of affairs before setting foot.
The Mayor of Housing, who is the CEO of the Housing and Construction Mayor Limited, was reviewing the investment climate in Rivers State at the Super FM station at Eleme especially how land matters affect investments and businesses.
He said: “One of the biggest marketers of any location is local direct investors (LDI). We that are on ground get many calls from faraway investors asking us what the government is truly doing and our experience on hand.
“They will know whether to come or not. So, one of the greatest de-marketers or marketers of a state is the LDI. So, the governor needs to rally those of us that are here, work with us, solve our problems. This way, we can naturally and gladly tell the FDIs that Rivers State is good to invest.
“Our people say it is the rat at home that tells the one in the bush that there is fish in the fireplace.”
He further said that investors are now happy that for once in over a decade, Rivers people now talk business, and investment is now a subject of discussion.
“Many have said they now want to commend the governor that for once the people are talking about business, not politics. The economic summit is a good idea focusing discuss on business.
“You can see the number of people thanking the government for talking business. The theme of the economic summit is ‘Rivers Emerge’, and I said at the summit that Rivers people are waiting and eager to emerge.”
The CEO said many were saying government has work to do in the housing sector. “They fear that if they got land and want Certificate of Occupancy, they would wait forever. In a situation such as this, it would be difficult to expect investors to come because they may not come.
“Some fear that if they built without certificates and approvals, they would risk demolition without compensation. They say that is why they go to other states. That is why we are throwing light on this matter so the governor can remove these bottlenecks and allow land papers to be available.”
He went on to state that people want top business people to engage this new governor, Sim Fubara, so people will be sure that if they bought land, latest in one month, their papers would be out. “Some of them say nobody wants to waste his money because the government can come and claim that it is its land and the investor’s money is gone. They want the governor to be engaged along these lines.
“These are the things LDI talk about and if the conditions are good, their talks attract outsiders to come and invest and do business.”
China, also known as a real estate success strategist, said the body language of a governor alone does much to woo investors. “When it comes to government bureaucracy and policy, I tell you I always look at the body language of the governor. We are very hopeful of the outcome of the economic summit.
“Government expands and contracts on the body language of the principal person in any society, in this case the governor. In law there is what they call the ‘right to fair hearing’. It is assumed that when a court hears you, there is the belief that the court will deliver justice.”
The entrepreneur also spoke about the housing policy of the Fubara administration and said it is one of the best in Nigeria at the moment. He said the use of the public private partnership (PPP) initiative in executing the 20,000 low-cost housing unit has guaranteed success. He said the subsidy for about 1000 units in it would help lower earners and public servants to also gain access to the houses.
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