Brandford Daniel Kwame Adu
A former president of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Brandford Daniel Kwame Adu, has urged government to set up a $100 million seed fund to be used by the association to provide affordable housing.
Mr. Adu made the call on Tuesday in Accra at the 2017 edition of the GREDA Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs) conference held at the Alisa Hotel under the theme: “Confronting The Housing Deficit: A Call For Innovation From All Stakeholders In The Housing Industry.”
According to him, it has become necessary for government to establish such a fund to ensure that affordable housing units are provided for the masses.
He said if established, the fund should be jointly managed by GREDA and a state agency and interest to be charged on loans to be given out to developers from the fund should not exceed 10 percent.
“It is an obligation on every government to provide affordable housing for the people it governs,” he said.
“Within the period GREDA has been in existence, the houses they have built cannot be compared. But their houses are not affordable because government has no input in them,” he told
He indicated that “if government wants to build affordable houses, my suggestion is that a fund should be put up.
“And I wouldn’t say too much but they should put down $100 million as seed money for affordable housing development and team up with GREDA within a period of maybe 24 months, there will be a miracle in housing development,” he added.
“Look, government has land banks, all government has to do is to provide services; they should demarcate and put in roads and water,” he observed.
Brandford Daniel Kwame Adu
By Melvin Tarlue