The Department of Land Economy of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, has held the Ghana Affordable Housing Finance (GAHF) forum at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra.
The two-day forum which was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Works and Housing and Ministry of Finance, brought together key stakeholders in the regulatory and financial institutions as well as academia, to dialogue on sustainable and affordable housing finance system in Ghana.
The Head of Department of Land Economy, Dr. Frank Gyamfi, in his welcome address mentioned the need to institute a system that will enable the country to provide affordable housing finance to the building sector.
According to Dr. Gyamfi, there is clear evidence of inefficiency in the current system of housing delivery. This he explains, is evident in the huge number of uncompleted buildings seen across the country. To curb these, he proposed that the key stakeholders must ensure that the cities are well planned and built in a way that makes houses affordable and accessible to all.
The Minister for Works and Housing, Honourable Samuel Atta-Akyea, addressing the participants said the Ministry is challenged in the provision of accessible and affordable housing to citizens. Growth of the housing sector he said, has been hindered by cost of building materials and land litigation. Therefore, there is the need for Government to develop and implement a more efficient way to finance housing and acquire land banks to partners to develop them.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Honourable Charles Adu Boahen, at the forum stressed the importance of investment and development in the housing sector. He called on banks to adopt more innovative measures to ensure that the informal sector is evaluated to access mortgage and flexible housing funds from the banks.
In another development, a ‘Policy Advisory Council’ was set up with representation from key stakeholders, to oversee the implementation of measures necessary for institutionalising a formal and affordable housing financing system for the country.