By Godwill Arthur-Mensah
Tema, Nov. 25, GNA – Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia on Monday inaugurated 1,072 affordable housing units constructed by the Tema Development Company (TDC) Limited in Community 26.
The Vice President also cut the sod for the construction of additional 832 housing units under Phase 4, which would bring the total houses to 1,904.
The housing units fall under Phase 1-3 Kpone Affordable Housing Units, made up of one-bedroom standard, one-bedroom special and two-bedroom apartments.
The gated community has all the necessary amenities as water, electricity, drainage and asphalted road network.
The housing units were started by President John Agyekum Kufuor’s government in 2006.
Vice President Bawumia, who commissioned the over 1,000 houses at a ceremony in Tema, said the Akufo-Addo’s Government was determined to reduce the country’s housing deficit, which currently stood at approximately 1.8 million and promote sustainable housing solution going forward.
He said, over the past eight years, the government had reduced the national housing units by 36 per cent and highlighted various housing projects it had implemented during the period.
The government, he said, had already set up a financing model through a private-public partnership (PPP) to address the country’s housing needs, noting that the PPP arrangements was the way to go in this modern era.
“That is the model we are going to apply as we have done with the National Home Ownership Fund to really solve this housing problem,” Dr Bawumia emphasised.
The Vice President underscored the need to deepen the mortgage market and ensure it function effectively.
“The mortgage market doesn’t function in a vacuum. And this is why we made sure that we had the National ID Card (Ghana Card) which provides unique identity to all Ghanaians.
Other critical ingredients the government rolled out for effective mortgage market included the digital address system for property locations, Dr Bawumia stated, noting that those soft infrastructure underpinned the development of the mortgage market.
In addition, he said, the government also implemented the mobile money interoperability payment system, which ensured financial inclusion for the citizens and the recent credit scoring system for easy purchasing of goods and services on credit basis.
The Vice President said now that the soft infrastructure had been laid, the next chapter of the country’s housing issue would be to usher the nation into a “decade of housing.”
“We are going to bring the private sector to develop the mortgage market and so commissioning and groundbreaking ceremony, is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our government to providing affordable and decent housing for all Ghanaians,” the Vice President assured.
Over the past eight years, he said. government had completed over 1,000 houses in state housing alone, noting that it remained steadfast in resolving the housing deficit in a sustainable and inclusive manner.
“Together, we are building not just hope, but a future of equity, opportunity, and prosperity,” the Vice President assured.
GNA