﻿HOW GHANA INVESTED $5 BILLION IN CREATING AFFORDABLE HOUSES.
Given the sector's importance in addressing social needs and its role in the local economy,
the Ghanaian government has identified affordable housing as a top priority.
It is critical to recognize the importance of sustainability
and the potential of green finance when discussing affordable housing.
Housing is specifically mentioned in Ghana's strategy for meeting the Sustainable Development
Goals. Sustainability brings multiple benefits to housing projects, not only in terms of the
build itself, but also in attracting subsidies and lower financing costs (at both wholesale and
retail levels). Government of Ghana has secured an amount of $5 billion from United Nations Office
for Projects Services (UNOPS) for the construction of 100,000 affordable houses in the country.
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The UNOPS is fully funding the $5 billion project with the government of Ghana only
providing the land. Madam Freda Prempeh, the Deputy Minister for Works and Housing in the
26th of November 2019 interview with Class FM described the agreement as a dream come true.
According to her, one of the main mandates of the Works and Housing Ministry
is to provide affordable houses for Ghanaians. Therefore the agreement is going to go a long
way provide houses for a lot of Ghanaians. “This housing deal is a dream come true, I’ve
been following up with their local partners in the United Nations office for a long time. One of our
mandates is to ensure that we provide affordable houses for the good people of Ghana”, she said.
She reiterated that “The UNOPS are going to sink a whopping sum of $5 billion into this housing
project. Government is not going to pay a dime on it, they are going to pre-finance the project.
Our part of the deal is only to provide land and land acquisition in Ghana is quite a challenge,
and as a ministry, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to acquire land
so that our investors would not find any difficulties securing lands for this project”.
She further shared that the project is going to create a lot of jobs both directly and
indirectly to the citizens of this country. She added that there is also going to be a transfer
of Technology as the UNOPS is looking at setting up their machinery in Ghana.
They are looking to move the country away from the brick and tile age
and incorporate some new technologies into the housing industry.
Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General, Grete Feremo who played a major role in the
agreement said the reason UNOPS chose Ghana was that the country has become a shining star in
Africa and also showing strong signs of economic growth and prosperity.He said Ghana has enjoyed
political stability in the sub-region, hence has made the country an attractive investment
destination and for that reason UNOPS wants to invest in the real estate sector in the country.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who witnessed the signing of the agreement,
thanked the UN team for the initiative and stated that the
huge housing deficit in Ghana was of great concern to him.His
Exellency Nana Addo emphasized a country like Ghana with a housing deficit of over one million,
was unacceptable, hence any initiative that will seek to reduce the deficit was welcome.
Estates in Ghana have seen a $5 billion influx in the creation of affordable estates in the country.
The project, which will be entirely funded by the United Nations Office for Project Services
(UNOPS), is expected to take between five and eight years to complete. The starting price of
a unit is US$27,500, to be paid by mortgage over a 30-year period, and is expected to generate
100,000 direct and indirect jobs over the period. The Vice President of Ghana, Dr Alhaji
Mahamudu Bawumia, has broken the ground for the construction of 100,000 affordable
housing units across the country. Breaking the ground for the commencement of work at
Afiama, a suburb of Amasaman in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region,
where 6,500 units of the 100,000 would be erected, Dr Bawumia described the project as
"the game changer in reducing Ghana's housing deficit which he said stood at 1.7 million.
Dr Bawumia said, housing which is the next most important human need after food and clothing
but inability to meet the housing needs of the citizenry in the past has created a huge backlog,
estimated to be in excess of 1,700,000 units. Whilst the housing supply requirement is about
150,000 units per annum, the Vice President said, less than 40 per
cent of that figure is achieved annually. Ghana's local housing sector was confronted
with numerous challenges, including a lack of affordable finance options for both
developers and citizens, a lack of affordable properties, and a lack of affordable mortgage
options, among others. As a result, there is a significant gap between the demand for housing
and the availability of viable and sustainable housing options for hardworking Ghanaians.
Dr Bawumia said though the UNOPS housing scheme, which is being replicated in Kenya,
India and across the Caribbean, would help augment the housing projects
the Government of Ghana was undertaking. The project which aims at providing decent
and affordable houses for Ghanaians is in line with the government's policy, the government of
Ghana had fully embraced the project and hopes the same level of enthusiasm is demonstrated by the
private sector in supporting other developmental programmes With Ghana playing a facilitating role
and the UN agency solely funding the project, Dr Bawumia said "the programme arrangement does not
impose any financial liability on government and requires no government guarantees."
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