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March 11, 2016
100,000 housing units for workers by
end of 2008 - Minister
Accra, Nov. 20, GNA - Mr Hackman Owusu Agyemang, Minister of
Water Resources, Works and Housing, on Monday announced that
the Government would build 100,000 housing units for workers
throughout the country by the end of 2008.
He said the Government had already completed 4,000 houses
units within this year and started with the sale of low-cost
estate houses in October this year.
Mr Owusu Agyemang was speaking at the inauguration of the
Ghana Housing Finance Association (GHFA), which aims among
other things to broaden housing finance to the low and
informal markets through appropriate delivery system.
He said the housing project was part of vigorous effort by
the Government to provide affordable houses for workers.
He explained that the Government was trying to build the
houses at half cost by using local building materials and
said an enabling environment to facilitate the work of
members of the Association would be created.
Mr Owusu Agyemang said the Government would transform the
First Ghana Building Society into a housing bank to enable
low-income earners own a house.
He advised GHFA to endeavour to bring down rates and
simplify issues to help to address the housing problems,
saying; "we appreciate the social aspect of the housing
system".
Mr Anthony Akoto Osei, Deputy Minister of Finance and
Economic Planning, said the Social Security and National
Insurance Trust (SSNIT) was assisting real estate developers
with 60 million dollars since housing was a priority area of
the Government.
He noted that housing provided security for everyone hence
credit for housing development was for both economic and
social progress.
Re-affirming Government's commitment to the housing
industry, the Deputy Minister expressed the hope that GHFA
would introduce loan products focusing on social
transformation in terms of poverty alleviation and urged the
GHFA to see housing as an instrument of social and economic
development in the face of major challenges posed by
population growth and urbanization.
Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Local Government,
Rural Development and Environment, who chaired the function,
noted that proper housing management also helped in the
identification process.
Mr Asare Akuffo, Interim President of GHFA, expressing the
hope that resilience of the economy would be sustained and
noted that the capitalist system was all about marketing;
and housing should not be left out.
"Housing must be seen as a market to develop," he said, and
urged the Government to focus on the housing sector.
Mr Akuffo stressed that housing presented an economic
opportunity that would share the vision of growth and said
GHFA encouraged home ownership.
He said the Association shared the Government vision of
providing affordable housing as well as broadening housing
finance to the low income and informal markets.
Mr Akuffo pointed out that in situations where developers
had to provide off-site infrastructure at high cost was a
serious disincentive and constraint to affordable housing.
“There is a chain in the housing market that has important
links and it is made up of land and property rights;
development finance and infrastructural services; the
construction industry and mortgage finance. Any weak link in
the chain constrains development,” he noted.
The Ghana Housing Finance Association aims at solving the
prevailing problems in the housing finance system by
supporting efforts at upgrading informal settlements and
slums through public private partnership to foster security
of tenure, affordable housing and basic services.
GNA
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