Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia yesterday, November 25, 2024, commissioned the 1,072 Phases 1-3 Kpone Affordable Housing project.
The Vice President also broke grounds for the Phase 4 of the project, set to deliver an additional 800 units, bringing the total number of homes in the enclave to 1,872.
The project, initiated in 2006 during the tenure of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, stalled completely under the Mills and Mahama administrations due to the lack of government investment, but has since seen a revival under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led administration, delivering decent homes for Ghanaians.
The Vice President, in his remarks, highlighted government’s commitment to addressing Ghana’s housing deficit through a comprehensive and innovative approach.
“The lack of a robust, long-term mortgage has made it difficult for many prospective home owners to access affordable financing needed to realise their dream of home ownership.
“When the housing market goes down, the economy goes down. When the economy is going down, you see it in the housing market because the mortgage market is in trillions of dollars and pounds across various advanced economies,” he said.
He emphasised the importance of leveraging public-private partnerships (PPP) as the primary model for delivering affordable housing in Ghana, proposing a Decade of Housing Programme to reduce the country’s 1.8 million housing deficit.
“We have seen the year of roads and what impact we have made with it in Ghana and what I will be ushering in God willing is a decade of housing for us to address our housing needs. We have already set forth, giving our experiences with the financing model for this. It’s a private-public partnership. That is the model we are going to apply, as we have done with the National Home Ownership Fund, to really solve this housing problem,” he added.
Sector Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, lauded the project as a major achievement in the government’s efforts to provide affordable housing.
He said the delivery of the Phases 1 to 3 of the project is testament to government’s unwavering commitment to bridging the housing gap in the country.
“This achievement reflects the exceptional leadership both on the side of government, TDC and the commitment, expertise, and professionalism of the contractors who brought these phases to life,” he said.
Mr. Nkrumah highlighted government’s broader housing achievements, revealing that since 2017, over 10,000 homes have been delivered through various initiatives. This is in addition to the over 1,000 housing for security services.
The minister further assured Ghanaians of the government’s commitment to completing stalled housing projects.
“We are completing the Adenta SHC flats, and we have also handed over the Saglemi stalled units to the selected private partner to finance and complete,” he said.
In addition to the Kpone Affordable Housing project, Dr. Bawumia inspected ongoing works on Phases 2 and 3 of the National Housing Fund (NHF) estates nearby, which will add 534 new homes to Ghana’s housing stock.
A Daily Guide Report