With a common goal to resolve the issues surrounding housing in the country, the Public Rental Board (PRB) and the Real Estate Agents Licensing Board (REALB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday in the pursuit of data.
PRB general manager Timoci Naleba emphasised the need for current and accurate data for the purposes of composing holistic project proposals to manage the housing needs of the Fijian public.
“It is the mandate of government that we provide shelter and affordable housing for all, in particular, for those living below the poverty line,” Mr Naleba said.
“Government would be able to contribute to any gaps we identify through subsidies or other assistances that government is giving. But for government to be able to do that effectively, they need PRB to have those proposals, and for us to do make those proposals effectively we need data from REALB.”
The data available to PRB thus far from the Bureau of Statistics has become outdated, much of it from 2017.
Data provided by the REALB in terms of property types and values will assist the rental board with advising tenants on their journey to home ownership.
“That’s one of the reasons we’re thankful for the real estate board extending its hand to assist PRB,” Mr Naleba said.
Both organisations had relatively recently identified a lack of data as a key issue, and had individually made moves towards data collection; combining their efforts becoming a rational next step.
REALB registrar Peni Komainavoka said: “We’ve been beefing up our organisation’s capabilities in the areas of data, analytics and collection. When we received communication from PRB we saw this as an opportunity where we can work together on a common interest.”
