Government to support Rehoboth properties to build affordable houses

Mrs Freda Prempeh, the Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, has assured of government support to Rehoboth Properties, a Ghanaian owned real estate Company to build affordable houses in Danfa, in the Greater Accra Region.

She commended the efforts of Rehoboth Properties to construct 1,700 affordable housing units on an 81 acre land at Danfa, which comprises of one to three bedroom houses in a gated community, with underground drain and tarred roads to be completed in a year.

She said the Ministry would support the company with an off-take agreement to enable them to put up more affordable housing units in the country.

Mrs Prempeh gave the assurance in Accra in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, after inspecting the company’s sites to foster public private partnership, in the country’s quest to initiate affordable housing projects.

She was impressed with the quality of the buildings, which had been constructed with local materials after touring the sites in Oyarifa, Armahia and Danfa, in the Greater Accra Region.

The Deputy Minister noted that the country was battling with a housing deficit of 1.7 million and that the collaboration with the private sector would help bridge the housing deficit gap.

She was satisfied to see that the company was constructing the drains and the infrastructure works before beginning with the housing project and hoped that work would continue in earnest in the coming weeks.

Mrs Prempeh also commended the company for establishing factories to produce 150,000 roofing sheets a day as well as louvers and aluminium frames and urged other companies to follow suit and increase job opportunities for the teeming youth.

She said the company’s total work force of about 1,600, complements government efforts at creating jobs for the citizenry.

Mrs Prempeh said the Ministry would engage the company in further negotiations to ensure that the project would be affordable to the ordinary citizen, and also meet international standards of would be home owners not paying more than 30 per cent of their salary as mortgage.

She said Real Estate developers must take into consideration individuals salary levels and incomes in pricing the houses they build, adding that, government would do all it can to ensure that housing deficit is reduced. Mr Gideon Ayiku Akrofi, the President of Rahoboth Properties Limited said the first phase of the affordable projects would see the construction of 680 units, which would start in two weeks time.

He said their properties costs USD 92,000 for a two bedroom house but with government partnership in the affordable housing projects, it would be reduced to US40,000 dollars.

Mr Akrofi said government support would be crucial to drive the agenda of bridging the housing gap deficit in the country. “Government alone cannot do it and needs the partnership of the private sector to execute the project in an effective and efficient manner”.

Mr Angus Walsh, the Managing Director of Rehoboth Properties said the company’s foundation was built on the value of character, integrity, respect, honesty and trust and would continue to deliver to their best.