Gov’t encourages investors to go into affordable housing in rural areas

Government says it is determined to address the housing deficit by forging strong partnership with the private sector to provide affordable housing units to meet the demands of Ghanaians.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea said investors would also be urged to invest in rural affordable housing projects so that people could opt to live there while they work in the city.

Ghana’s current housing deficit stands at 1.7 million units .

The Minister of Works and Housing , Samuel Atta Akyea at the commissioning of Erduk Company Limited , a private construction and property management firm, at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region reiterated government’s determination to partner with the private sector to solve the housing deficit.

Erduk Company Limited is into infrastructural and civil engineering works; providing sound and cost effective construction project solutions to public and private entities.

Samuel Atta Akyea who described the deficit as worrying also acknowledged that such problems required public-private partnership to address , since the government alone could not address the challenge.

He added that government will engage companies like Erduk “to wipe out this housing problem”. He used the occasion to advise local contractors to be more competitive, but noted that, “we have a sad culture that, quality can only come from people with white pigmentation.

Our minds have been colonized such that it is difficult to have a private Ghanaian set up that can deliver quality to compete favourably with foreigners because they only come here to help, but end up taking our monies back to their countries’’.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, commended the company on their support towards job creation in the country.

He said government has created an enabling environment for private sector to create more jobs.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Erduk Company Limited, Mr Eric Duku said, his outfit would continue to undertake various initiatives to reduce the current youth unemployment rate confronting the country.

He appealed to stakeholders to support him to achieve this aim.

The Bantamahene, Nana Baffour Amankwatia VI, who represented the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, lauded the management of the company on their commitment to create opportunities for individuals in the country.