Developers want dialogue on land administration

Housing developers have called for a national dialogue on proposals by some experts calling for the vesting of all lands in the state, as land litigation and multiple sale of land cases increase.

The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) has advanced the idea of vesting all lands in the state and administered on behalf of the owners, as the country struggles to streamline its land ownership and digitize its land management and administration systems.

The Managing Director of UT Properties, Kojo Kwakye Owusu, said: “There has to be a lot more discussion on that. There has to be stakeholder engagement to ensure that all parties involved in a structure like that are content with arrangement like that.”

He was speaking to the B&FT on the sidelines of a tour of the company’s new 300 housing units site at Oyibi, Accra,

A development consultant, Richard Appiah-Oppong, also believes that the existing land ownership and administration system has many loopholes that breed contention

“Anything is better than what we have at the moment. If lands are vested in the state and if the state will be transparent or those who are overseeing are transparent and consistent, fine. But if it is going to be missing files and missing data then that is going to be another problem,” Mr. Appiah-Oppong said.

He added that: “Yes it is true that lands can be vested in the state. I have lived and worked in countries where land is vested in the state and it is easier to assemble land for any type of development. So that is could be something worth looking at.”

Whilst the GREDA proposal is likely to be met with stiff opposition from some quarters, the builders believe it ought to be given consideration given the growing housing deficit. Little efforts have been made by successive governments over the past two decades to address the housing deficit.

For instance, the affordable housing scheme started during the time of President John Kufour in the mid-2000s is yet to be fully completed.

In 2011, government entered into an arrangement with STX Ghana and its Korean counterpart for the construction of about 300,000 housing units to address the decade-old shortfall in the housing sector. The initiative was seen as the largest-ever government intervention in the sector.

However, the deal fell through following a boardroom wrangling involving the partners. This led to government suspending its initial US$1.5billion sovereign guarantee.

Across the country, various affordable housing projects are ongoing and in the past, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has also helped to provide some condominium housing.

Some of the projects currently underway include the Ghana-OAS Brazil 5,000 affordable housing project at Saglemi, Ningo; and GoG-Sethi Realty 5,000 affordable housing project at Kpone.

Private sector developers are also building various types of houses within and on the fringes of the city to help bridge the deficit.

UT Properties’ Ubuntu Haven is strategically sited at Oyibi near the Valley View University. The 290 plush housing unit residential enclave boasts of semi-detached, detached houses with two and three bedrooms in a highly desirable community that allows for clients’ input in all stages of construction and accords home buyers a number of financing options that include mortgage financing.