Sustainable housing policy? When?

Accra, Oct.10 GNA-Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, Minister of Works, Housing and Water Resources on Friday said the objective of government was to implement a sustainable housing policy that would enable all Ghanaians to get access to secure housing and tenure within a safe and healthy environment.

"Government envisions a country in which everyone is able to access good quality, affordable, secure and appropriate housing designed and built in line with sustainable principles and planning is done along with local communities".

Addressing a news conference, Alhaji Boniface said the achievement of the National Housing goal depended on the creation of an enabling environment that would stimulate the participation of private enterprise in housing delivery.

"Among the basic objectives of the policy are to accelerate home improvement, the upgrading and transformation of the existing housing stock, to improve the environment of human settlements with a view to raising the quality of life through the provision of good drinking water, sanitation and other basic services to make housing programmes more accessible to the poor and to eliminate constraints facing the participation of the private sector in housing delivery as well as promoting orderly consolidated urban growth with acceptable minimum provision of physical and social infrastructure," he said.

Alhaji Boniface said the target of the affordable housing scheme initiated in 2005 was to provide 100,000 housing units over a 10-year period through government intervention and private sector participation. He added that, the housing deficit is estimated to be in excess of 500,000 units while supply was about 45,000 units per annum.

"The first phase of the Programme commenced at Borteyman-Nungua and was extended to Kpone, Asokore-mampong, Koforidua, Tamale and Wa. The houses being constructed under the first phase are 1 and 2 bedroom apartments in 4-storey block of flats with minimum specification and all the necessary infrastructures such as roads, drains central sewage systems, schools, shopping centers, clinics and police stations," he said.

He said a total of 325 contractors have been engaged to undertake the projects on all the six sites and an amount of GHC 52.67 million have been spent on the projects.

Alhaji Boniface said it was the intention of government to build a total of 600 housing units under the first phase in the remaining 6 regional capitals of Sunyani, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ho, Bolgatanga and Cape Coast.

"Government has released an amount of 10 million US dollars to HFC Bank Limited as a revolving fund for the public sector employees housing scheme where workers can acess up to an amount of GHC 25,000 to complete or purchase their own houses," he said.

He said the ministry has sourced about 50,000 acres of land in Greater Accra and other regional and district capitals for the National Housing Programme and associated infrastructural development. He said government residential properties were being redeveloped in order to maximize the use of existing prime lands and increase housing densities.

"Low cost houses which were built in 1972 are being sold to sitting tenants in order to raise additional capital for the National Housing Programme." he said. 10 Oct. 08