President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged stakeholders in the housing and construction industry to find immediate solutions to the high cost of houses in the country.
The President observed that the cost of three to four bedroom houses in places like East Legon in Accra could buy a mansion in a developed country like America.
“We cannot continue to ignore the expensive methods of construction that has made housing here virtually a monopoly of the rich. It should not be the case
“The richest country in the world, America, has some of the cheapest housing you can come across anywhere in the world,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo expressed the concern at a meeting with the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GhCCI) at the Jubilee House in Accra on Wednesday.
He entreated stakeholders in the industry to ensure that the materials that went into housing were local and indigenous.
“We need to find a solution to how we can build strong houses here but cheaply. That is something we must all put our heads around and find a solution to the housing deficit in the country,” he said.
The President also expressed concerns over the increasing number of foreigners in the construction industry and appealed to the chamber to support the government to change that narrative.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso Boakye, said the ministry was actively working to address the challenges in the housing industry.
Currently before cabinet for approval, he said, was a document for the establishment of a housing authority which would be the institutional framework to develop the housing industry in Ghana.
“Cabinet has given policy approval for the review of the Rent Act,” he said and added that the ministry would work to address real estate transactions which had become an avenue for money laundering.
Earlier at the Jubilee House, President Akufo-Addo met a delegation from the Pan African Youth Union.
BY YAW KYEI
