National housing scheme takes off
President John Dramani Mahama yesterday cut the sod for the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units for low-income public and civil servants at Saglemi, Old Ningo, in the Greater Accra Region.
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The project, which marked the beginning of the national housing scheme, is jointly funded by the Government of Ghana and Construtora OAS of Brazil.
The first phase of the project, which involves the construction of 1,500 housing units at a cost of $200 million, is expected to be completed within 18 months.
The rest of the 5,000 housing units are scheduled to be completed in four years on a 1,272-acre land at Saglemi.
Under the arrangement, the Ghana Home Loans Company will take over the houses after their completion and sell them to low and middle-income public and civil servants.
The prospective buyers will have access to mortgage finance and the payment for the houses will be spread over a number of years.
It is a revolving project, which means that money realised from buyers will be used to build more houses.
President on Housing
Performing the ceremony, President Mahama said housing was a major challenge in the country, with the current housing deficit standing at 1.7 million houses.
He said private individuals were the leading providers of houses, followed by real estate companies.
He said landlords took advantage of the challenge and charged exorbitant rents and also compelled tenants to pay about three years’ rent advance.
Therefore, the government needed to step in to construct more houses to allow many people to acquire houses.
The President said the sod-cutting for the 5,000 housing units at Saglemi signalled the beginning of the national housing scheme designed to put up more affordable houses in the country.
He added that the government, in collaboration with another company, would perform a ceremony to mark the construction of 4,000 affordable housing units this year.
Affordable houses
President Mahama also announced that the government was finalising talks with the Social Security and National Insurance Scheme (SSNIT) to continue the construction of 4,900 affordable housing units which were initiated by the Kufuor administration.
Economy
The President said Ghana's economy, like other economies in the world, was facing some challenges and hinted that his team was working on the economy, which had started producing some positive results.
He, therefore, gave an assurance that Ghanaians would see a very strong and resilient economy next year.
He said despite the challenges, he and his team would not leave the scene but rather stay on to deliver more development projects and grow the economy.
The President indicated that by the end of 2016 his administration would have been able to deliver all the development projects and programmes that he promised Ghanaians during the 2012 electioneering.
Brazilian facility
President Mahama announced that Ghana and the Brazilian government were finalising a $1-billion master facility agreement for Ghana, noting that the money would be used to support the energy, water, sanitation and agricultural sectors.
Minister
The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Dauda, said Ghana needed to build 170,000 housing units every year within the next 10 years to bridge the nation’s 1.7 million housing deficit.
The government would, therefore, collaborate with many companies to increase the country’s housing units.
The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Mr E. T. Mensah, said the new housing scheme was necessary, since the STX housing project could not take off.
Brazilian Company
The Executive Chairman of Construtora OAS, Mr Andrew Clocanas, said the company was committed to providing the infrastructure needed to propel Ghana’s socioeconomic development.
He said the company would ensure quality in the construction of the houses to serve as a benchmark for others to emulate.
The Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Irene Vida Gala, commended the Ghana government for its commitment to fight hunger and efforts at providing shelter for people and indicated that Brazil was ready to support Ghana in that regard.
Daily Graphic/Ghana
A version of this article appears in print on November 7, 2013, on page 03 of the Daily Graphic with the headline: National housing scheme takes off