Gov’t hints of refurbishing affordable housing project

The government of Ghana has secured an amount of 51 million dollars to aid it refurbish all abandoned affordable housing units in the country.

About two thousand housing units are thus, expected to be refurbished for them to be inhabited.

The move will begin with those started by former President John Kufuor and subsequently to those built by the former NDC government. This was disclosed by Works and Housing Minister, Samuel Atta Akyea

He made the disclosure on Accra based Citi FM on the sidelines of the 30th Anniversary Dinner Dance and Awards by the Ghana Real Estate Developers’ Association (GREDA) over the weekend.

“The quantity surveyors have brought in 51 million dollars to complete these structures which were abandoned by the NDC and we are close to getting the approval to complete them. We are going to complete them as quickly as possible and roll out new ones,”

The Minister, however, noted that the amount will have to be affirmed by the Ministry of Finance before they can access and make use of it.

“We have found monies that we are seeking approval from the Ministry of Finance to complete every project which is in the way of affordable housing that former President Kufuor started and then when they are completed, we are going to roll out our own new structures. It works against the economy for the old structures to be abandoned.”

Koforidua, Saglemi, Ho and Tamale are areas where the affordable housing units are located.

Ghana’s housing deficit is estimated at 1.7 million which some analysts project could reach 2 million by next year.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Real Estate Developers’ Association has made a petition for the government to address some persisting issues pertaining to their industry.

The new President of GREDA, Patrick Ebo Bonful, for instance, has called for a swift response to the issues of land banks as well as tax breaks for real estate development in Ghana.

“It is my humble submission that if possible, the government should take land from the Allodial owners in lieu of cash in order to enable them to register all their interest in the lands they own.”Mr. Bonful said, commenting on how to address the issue of land litigation.