Samuel Atta Akyea
The Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, has indicated that the ministry intends to bring to parliament the Pension Funds Amendment Act 11 of 2007 for further amendments so that part of the money could be used to provide affordable houses for workers to either rent or buy them.
He said mortgage arrangements are also being put in place to ensure that Ghanaians in general own houses through mortgage, adding that it is the priority of the government to drastically reduce the housing deficit of 1.7 million in the country.
Contributing to a debate to approve the ministry’s estimates for 2018, Mr Atta Akyea said the government had facilitated a loan of $200 million from Credit Suisse for Messrs Construction OAS Ltd to construct 5,000 housing units at Sadlemi, Old Ningo in the Greater Accra Region.
He said his outfit had also initiated discussions with private investors to complete the remaining 686 affordable housing units at Koforidua, Wa and Tamale through the Public/Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
The ministry had seen its 2017 budget slashed from GH¢108.9 million to GH¢791.5 million in the 2018 estimates, which the minster said presents a huge financial challenge in delivering on its mandate since the ministry requires huge capital outlay to be able to effectively carry out its mandate.
He noted that the ministry’s functions had also been impeded by huge arrears of GH¢1.2 billion left by the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
“The ministry has created the enabling environment for the private sector to fully participate in the delivery of housing units,” Mr Atta Akyea said, adding that his outfit had commenced discussion with Messrs SINOHYDRO Corporation Limited of China for the construction of 40,000 housing units and court structures for the Judicial Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Police Service, Prison Service, Immigration Service and the National Fire Service.
The minister, who is the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, indicated that the issue of flooding in the major cities and towns would also be seriously tackled by the government.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr