Editorial

Govt, private sector to address housing deficit – Asenso Boakye

 The govern­ment has adopt­ed a Public-Pri­vate-Partnership approach to addressing the housing deficit in the country, Minister for Works and Hous­ing, Francis Asenso Boakye, has said.

According to him, govern­ment alone could not address housing deficit which currently stood at 1.8 million and called on the private sector to help address the deficit.

Inaugurating the No 1 O’Grantson Communities at the East Legon Hills in Accra yesterday, Mr Boakye called on both local and international investors to take advantage of the housing deficit and invest in the sector in the country.

The 17-unit three and four bedrooms Housing Apart­ments is constructed by Sucasa Properties Limited, a real estate company.

It formed part of a four-phase project which is expected to deliver 2000 housing units by the end of 2023.

As part of the programme, the Minister visited the second phase of the No 2 O’Grantson Com­munities which is a 55 housing unit apartments currently under construction and cut the sod for the third phase which compromis­es 800 units.

Mr Boakye said the government was reviewing and enacting new and existing legislations to pro­mote the housing industry.

He said the Ministry had started the process to establish the Ghana National Housing Authority to regulate the real estate and housing industries.

Mr Boakye said the Rent Act, 1963 Act 220 (as amended) was being reviewed to meet current needs and dynamics in the housing sector.

The Minister commended Sucasa Properties Limited for the role it was playing to address the housing deficit and charging his property in the local currency.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sucasa Properties, Mi­chael Kwabena Owusu O’Grant­son said the objective of the O’ Grantson project was to build com­munities to address the housing deficit and add on the housing infrastructure of the country.

He said the company would soon start the fourth phase of O’Grantson Community at Ayi Mensah which would involve 80 housing units.

He said Sucasa Properties Limited had come into the Ghanaian Real Estate industry to stay, saying “We are here to stay forever.”

Mr O’Grantson called for collaboration to help address the housing challenges facing the country.

“With collaboration, there is nothing we cannot achieve,” he said.

The Executive Director of the Ghana Real Estate Developers As­sociation, Samuel Amegayibor, in a fraternal message said the real estate industry had not been spared of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and commended Sucasa Properties for the construction of the new housing apartments.

BY KINGSLEY ASARE

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