Nana Akuffo Addo’s Housing Non Starter

Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Ghanaians

Affordable Housing is one of the important aspects of the CPP’s new “Responsible Social Policy” agenda spelt out comprehensively in the Party’s manifesto.

The CPP has highlighted the fact that since the 1970’s successive governments have failed to provide such housing, that Landlords continue to exploit workers and families by charging rent advances in excess of the 6months stipulated by Law. That the more prevailing 3-4 years rent advance is forcing a desperate population to seek to build their own homes or “container shops” in whatever manner on whatever piece of land. This is leading to the current proliferation of land disputes with the attendant “violent land guards”, unplanned growth of our cities and towns, slums, high concentration of poverty and crime. Housing is thus a major issue needing a comprehensive plan and solution.

At his address to the TUC recently the Presidential Candidate of the NPP - Nana Akuffo Addo acknowledged the acute nature of the problem and accepted that our country has a housing deficit of about one million homes, increasing by one hundred thousand each year. Thus the next government of Ghana will face a housing need in the country of 1.1million homes. So what was Hon Nana Akuffo-Addo’s solution? - “I pledge my government to the construction of 50,000 housing units per year at 20,000 Ghana cedis per unit, 25,000 to be rented and 25,000 to be sold…..” he said.

Fellow Ghanaians apart from the fact that the NPP had promised in previous elections to deliver 200,000 homes , with a growing deficit of 100,000 per year, Nana Akuffo Addo’s Housing Plan will never catch up with the housing needs of the population and is thus a non – starter. Furthermore the NPP has failed to deliver a single room against their previous promise of 200,000 units. Contrast this with the CPP’s history on housing and its comprehensive plan to address Ghana’s housing need which accepts that the private sector alone cannot deliver Ghana’s housing deficit, that it is the state which has been responsible for delivering much of the housing need for families and young couples in the country including the Tema Communities and many housing estates across the country.

The CPP promises to deal with Ghana’s Housing problems thus:

• Pass a Revised Rent Act to help alleviate the suffering of workers and small businesses around the country. • Work with the Building and Road Research Institute, the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association and other Stakeholders in the housing industry to provide low cost technologies for building high quality and high capacity homes and apartments across the country. • Promote the development of the Mortgage Industry to increase the rate of home ownership in the country. • Strengthen the role of a State Housing Corporation in the provision of affordable housing throughout the country including the rural areas. • Work with the Ghana Institution of Engineers and other relevant private and public bodies to improve standards and quality in the construction industry. • Remove Tax Holidays for high-end housing markets and provide tax incentives for mass-occupancy affordable housing for workers and ordinary families.

The NPP on Housing as with other policy areas and promises have failed Ghana, we should not trust them again on this. The CPP has a better record on Housing; it has a record Ghanaians can believe in.

God Bless Our Homeland Ghana.

Communications Directorate – www.cppuk.org info@cppuk.org cppyouth@gmail.com