Full Text: What Works And Housing Minister Said At The Real Estate Experience
STATEMENT BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER FOR WORKS AND HOUSING, FRANCIS ASENSO-BOAKYE (MP), AT THE REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE – HOUSING FAIR ORGANISED BY GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION GROUP AND THE GHANA REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION HELD AT SILVER STAR TOWER, ACCRA ON THURSDAY 1ST DECEMBER, 2022
[Thursday, December 1, 2022 @ Silver Star Tower, Accra @ 10am]
Mr. Chairman
The Managing Director of Graphic Communications Group The Leadership and Members of GREDA Distinguished Invited Guests Friends from the Media Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Morning to you all.
1. I am happy to be your Guest for the Launch of the Real Estate Experience – Housing Fair, being held under the theme; “Home Ownership through Collaborative Efforts of Individuals, Institutions and Industry”.
2. I wish to take this opportunity to commend the Graphic Communications Group and the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), for creating this platform for players within the Real Estate Sector to meet and deliberate on key issues regarding home ownership.
3. Ladies and Gentlemen, the importance of our homes, to us as individuals, cannot be over emphasized. To many, it is more than just a roof over our heads, or a place to live and rest. They mean much more to us than just shelter.
4. It is the centre of the most important relationships that influence our lives; it is the place where we raise our families, receive our friends, and our neighbours.
5. The key determinants of quality of life around the world depends largely on a sound and efficient housing market, which provides decent homes for its people.
6. Notwithstanding these attributes, the housing market, that is expected to supply homes for Ghanaians, has over the years, been saddled with a lot of challenges. As a result, home ownership has become rather complex and also, an expensive venture for many of our people.
7. The causes of these complexities are not farfetched and can be attributed to rapid urbanization, population growth, among others. Despite interventions in the past by stakeholders, the country is facing a housing deficit, currently estimated at 1.8 million housing units.
8. Ladies and Gentlemen, to address this situation, there is the need for a concerted effort for industry players, individuals and institutions to collaborate in finding solutions to the complexities of home ownership. Government recognizes this huge challenge and has pledged to critically look at the general institutional architecture that drives the housing sector.
9. Currently, there is a Ghana Housing Authority Bill that is ready to be sent to Cabinet and subsequently to Parliament for consideration and approval.
10. The Ghana Housing Authority (GHA) when established will lead the supply side of the housing market. The Authority, will not only serve as a regulator in the sector, but also plan, develop and manage public housing in Ghana.
11. The expectation is that the operations of the GHA will help complement the operations of the newly created Home Ownership Fund which is to stimulate the demand side of the housing market to make housing accessible to the low-to-middle income earners.
12. Ultimately, the objective for setting up the GHA is to decouple the planning, development and management of public housing of the Ministry from its core mandate of formulating, coordinating and monitoring the implementation of housing policies.
13. Certainly, this will streamline the transition from policy formulation, coordination and monitoring through to the successful implementation of government led housing programmes.
14. In recent times, most implemented government-led housing projects have not achieved the desired outcomes and impact for which they were conceived, primarily because the feasibilities, conception, planning, development and management of these projects are not handled by professionals, and as a result, were influenced largely by political considerations.
15. Ladies and Gentlemen, besides the proposals for GHA, you are no doubt aware that the Government passed the Real Estate Agency Act 2000 (Act 1047) and has since set up the Real Estate Agency Council. The Council is to regulate real estate agency practice, commercial transactions in real estate including sale, purchase, rental and leasing of real estate.
16. The Council is coming up with a regulatory scheme for all the players in the sector to include brokers, agents, developers, marketers and managers of real estate. This is to ensure that the standards are harmonised.
17. There is also the concern that, since real estate transactions, which by their nature, involve huge sums of money, the sector can easily lend itself as an avenue to wash criminal proceeds in order to gain illegitimate profits. The Council will prohibit cash payments for real estate transactions and this will strengthen government’s anti-corruption initiatives, as well as curb other financial malpractices in the sector.
18. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased that you have identified the collaboration of individuals, institutions and industry as the catalyst to improving our home ownership status as a country.
19. We have an enormous opportunity in the Real Estate Agency Council and the Ghana Housing Authority when established, and when fully utilized, I am of the firm conviction that it will benefit the citizenry as a whole.
20. Before I resume my seat, I would like to say congratulations to the organisers, Graphic Communication Group and the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), once again, for staying committed to this noble cause of helping to provide homes to our people.
21. On this note, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my singular honour to declare the Real Estate Experience – Housing Fair, duly launched. I wish you all fruitful interaction.
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