The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federal (OHCSF) has reaffirmed its commitment towards the welfare of Civil Servants, inline with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation plan 2021-2025 (FCCSIP-25).
Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe disclosed this at a one-day Sensitization Workshop organized by the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Department for FISH Desk Officers in Ministries, extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as Civil Servants registered on the FISH programme with the theme: “Implementation of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Programme: Activation of the FISH Co-operative Scheme ”
Dr. Onwudiwe, who was represented by the Director, FISH, Mrs Uchenna Obi, in her address stated that the workshop would bring to fore a robust, inclusive and sustainable approach towards the implementation of the FISH Programme.
She explained that the main focus of the workshop was to educate and enlighten members of the FISH Co-operative Society on the concept of an ideal Housing Co-operative and how to leverage on it to ensure that the housing need of members are met.
“All over the world, Housing Co-operative Societies play crucial roles in the delivery of affordable housing to their members by providing veritable platforms to aggregate funds and resources to achieve their mandates,” she noted.
Dr. Onwudiwe revealed that the FISH Programme, at inception, was designed to provide affordable housing for Federal Civil Servants through an integrated strategy involving group land allocation, inter-ministerial collaborations, provision of infrastructure, site services and, ultimately, the establishment of the FISH Co-operative Society, as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the operation of the FISH Programme.
She added that the performance of majority of Co-operatives in the Public Service had been sub-optimal, with some enmeshed in corruption characterised by lack of transparency and accountability in their operations and as such, Public Officers seem to have developed apathy towards their activities.
RN
