[rev_slider alias=”GOVERNMENT HOUSING INITIATIVES WILL TRANSFORM THE INDUSTRY – HON. ASENSO-BOAKYE”]
The Minister for Works and Housing, Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye has expressed confidence that the numerous initiatives being instituted by the government to address the teething challenges in the housing industry will transform the sector and ultimately deliver efficient public infrastructure and services to the good people of Ghana.
Speaking at the launch of the Adumuah Place, a commercial residential building at Appolonia City, today in Accra, Asenso-Boakye stated that Government recognizes the importance of investing in the housing industry and is therefore poised to create the appropriate platform for best practices within the industry, adding that the Ministry has initiated the process to establish the Ghana Housing Authority which will have the mandate to regulate, plan, develop and manage housing developments in Ghana.
“We need to decouple the planning, development, and management of housing projects of the Ministry from its core mandate of formulating, coordinating, and monitoring the implementation of policies”. The Minister noted.
With the country’s rental accommodation is characterized by inflexible demands of landlords to collect advance rent from prospective tenants, in contravention of the provisions in the existing Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), Asenso-Boakye said the commencement of the Review of the existing Rent Act as well as Government’s intention to establish the Rent Assistance Scheme will be key in addressing the short to long term market failures in the rental segment of the housing market This imposes huge burden to mobilize year’s rent, in contravention of the provisions in the existing Rent Act,1963 (Act 220).
“There is the urgent need for government to offer protection to low-income and vulnerable prospective tenants from abuse and arbitrary actions of landlords and offer incentives to stimulate private sector investment.”