By Bright Ntramah
President Akufo-Addo has bemoaned the high cost of housing in the country stressing that the cost of a three-bedroom apartment in Ghana is far more expensive than a mansion in other countries. Lamenting on the expensive state of housing in the country when members of the Chamber of Construction Industry paid a courtesy call on him, the President charged them to find innovative ways of building cheaper houses for the citizenry.
The Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry was established to serve as a medium for continuous dialogue among the various stakeholders in the construction industry. The Chamber engages in policy Advocacy and reforms, in the housing sector. It is also facilitating the establishment of a Construction Industry Development Authority as a Regulatory body.
Addressing a delegation of the Chamber when they paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House, President Akufo-Addo said policy makers in the construction industry cannot continue to ignore the expensive methods of construction. The President wants Industry players to find ways of building cheaper houses for the people.
A member of the Governing Council of the Chamber Osei Asante, who spoke on behalf of the delegation proposed the passage of specific bills and the review of some existing laws in the built environment.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye called for appropriate means of financing the housing sector.
Government will remove bottlenecks in securing funds for the private sector that will venture into housing construction”, he posited.
