The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Sammy Amegayibor, has intimated that much has not been done to confront housing issues in the country.
According to Mr. Amegayibor, the issues have been raised in the past by GREDA in series of meetings with government, yet no action has been taken.
The Executive Secretary noted that GREDA had met Presidents in the past, and have brought some of these issues up including a mortgage review, affordable housing and also talked about how they can deal with land guard menace.
Sammy Amegayibor welcomed the concerns raised by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo regarding the high cost of houses in Ghana but stated that the concerns are genuine however, “these matters are not new”.
“I think it is a good call. This is not the first time. The issues of housing have been discussed at several fora but unfortunately we haven’t done much to confront the issues.”
Sammy Amegayibor
The GREDA Executive Secretary stated that if the President is raising these issues, it gives the opportunity for further discussions. He noted that the President brought a number of issues up and assented were all valid except to say that the collaboration to confront the problem is not working out as it’s supposed to be.
“So for example, cheaper materials, if we don’t build the enabling environment for local production of some of our inputs, it will call for importation and that is one of the areas where we are suffering.”
Sammy Amegayibor
Exchange rate eating country up
According to Sammy Amegayibor, the issue of the exchange rate is eating the country up so badly that if it wants to continue to depend on foreign importation which is currently around 70 percent as against 30 percent of what Ghana can find, it tells that this is not feasible.
The GREDA Executive Secretary urged for the creation of an enabling environment for local productions to be able to produce the needed resources.
“We have some local materials around but the way and our attitude towards local materials is not good enough. So we need to position ourselves or re-orient ourselves and begin to appreciate what we have locally.”
Sammy Amegayibor
The GREDA Executive Secretary averred that there is the need to have that platform with the full commitment of government then the private sector will also come in.
Build strong and cheaper houses
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has urged members of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry to find innovative ways to ensure the country builds cheaper houses for the citizenry. He added that housing in Ghana has become largely a monopoly of the rich.
Speaking at a meeting with members of the Ghana Chamber of Construction, President Akufo-Addo stated that there is the need for partnership between government and the private sector to tackle the housing deficit in Ghana
“I hear in Ghana, some small three-bedroom house in East Legon costs between $354,000 and $500,000. You get mansions for that in many parts of America. With between a $100,000 and $200,000 you get a very well appointed home because the materials that are used for construction in the UK are local, and are very cheap. We need to find ways of building strong and cheap houses in the country.”
President Akufo-Addo
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