The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), representing property developers, is calling on the government to reconsider its strategy for affordable housing projects involving its members.
GREDA pointed out that the government’s direct involvement in the development of affordable housing projects has, over the years, resulted in a lack of substantial progress in delivering such housing.
They expressed concern that when the government does engage private developers, it often chooses foreign partners over local developers.
To ensure that the state-sponsored affordable housing initiative fulfills its commitment to providing quality and affordable housing for low-income workers, Sammy Amegayibor, the Executive Secretary of GREDA, emphasized the need for the government to transition into a facilitator role rather than competing with private developers.
“Government’s role in affordable housing must be the facilitation. GREDA believes that government must strongly remove itself from direct involvement in the delivery of housing and facilitate the private sector by fixing the land acquisition bottlenecks, access to funding and basic infrastructure, among others.
“State organisations are either confused or not consulting properly. Most of the time we only get to hear in the news that government has secured foreign partners without any consultation with local players; and when they decide to consult GREDA after the engagement, nothing we suggest is taken into consideration.
“Local players like Lakeside Estate and the other big brands have proven several times that they are capable of delivering 5,000 to 20,000 housing units with state-of-the-art facilities within a short period of time. So, it’s beyond imagination why government is still ignoring us the local developers,” he said.
He went on to emphasize that when comparing the quality of projects undertaken by local developers and their pricing with what the government produces, it becomes evident that the government has not successfully delivered a single affordable housing project.
Consequently, he is urging the government to collaborate with local developers and adopt a facilitative role. This could involve granting tax incentives, offering input incentives, providing land, or meeting other essential requirements that would enable private developers to carry out the main infrastructure development projects at affordable rates for the general public.
These remarks were made during the launch of the Lakeside Hills housing project, a new lifestyle community developed by Lakeside Estate, which aims to provide over 5,000 homes in multiple phases.
The first phase of the Lakeside Hills project will encompass 200 homes, specifically four-bedroom, multi-story houses.
The project is envisioned as a comprehensive community that will encompass social and community experiences, including shopping, recreation, work, and leisure activities.
Dr. Prince Joseph Ayiku, the Managing Director of Lakeside Estate, explained that the project’s concept is to redefine housing and accommodation by offering more luxurious living options at reasonable prices.
“We are faced with a big task of how to create a development with elegance and green environment capable of satisfying the necessary elements of a luxurious family home,” he said.
The complex includes a cutting-edge sports facility created with clients’ health and fitness in mind. It has lawn tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts, as well as a football pitch and a green space for children’s amusement.
Past state affordable housing projects
GREDA pointed out that the tradition of the government offering housing units to citizens and state employees is not a recent occurrence. It noted that prior to the Fourth Republic, preceding administrations had undertaken similar affordable housing initiatives, including developments in areas like Dansoman, Adenta, and the Sakumono Estate, which was initiated during the tenure of the first President of the Fourth Republic, Jerry John Rawlings.
He emphasized that all these earlier developments were executed by local entities. However, current governments have encountered challenges in this regard due to their preference for involving foreign partners.
Mr. Amegayibor stressed that subsequent administrations in the Fourth Republic have lacked the same level of commitment, with a focus on symbolic ground-breaking ceremonies and ceremonial launches taking precedence over substantive progress.