The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama has appealed to real estate developers to reduce their rates to enable Ghanaians in the low income bracket to purchase homes which is the dream of every citizen.
He said the current rates of homes built by real estate developers in the country were simply too high for the average Ghanaian.
The Vice-President made the appeal in a speech read on his behalf at the launch of the 20th Anniversary Celebration of leading real estate developers, Regimanuel.
A Minister of State at the presidency, Mr Nii Afotey Agbo, who read the speech on behalf of the Vice-President, said �housing undoubtedly plays a major role in the overall development of any nation and that is why it has been treated as a top priority since this government came into office.�
He enumerated access to land, finance, and the over reliance on imported building materials as some of the challenges the government was aware confront estate developers and gave the assurance that �all these challenges are receiving the highest attention and have been addressed holistically in the National Housing Policy.�
According to the Vice-President, the National Housing Policy aims to provide adequate, safe, decent and affordable housing through collaboration with the private sector.
�We are in talks with several banks in a bid to getting them to provide affordable mortgages to Ghanaian workers in particular,� he added.He announced that Ghana had been admitted into Shelter-Afrique � a Pan-African housing finance and development institution established in 1982 � as its 43rd Member state.
The institute is owned by the African Development Bank and the African Reinsurance Corporation and is dedicated to the development of the real estate sector in Africa.
�Ghana�s membership, apart from facilitating access to the financing for the development of real estate affordable housing, will also provide access to Shelter-Afrique�s experience and expertise for housing and policy formulation,� he added.
The Chairman of Regimanuel Gray Limited, Mr Emmanuel Botchway, said land acquisition was the major challenge facing real estate developers.
He said land acquisition �is a real minefield that real estate developers have to walk through almost on a daily basis. Its features are fraud, violence and endless litigation.�Mr Botchway said �Regimanuel Gray Ltd has grappled with its fair share of these problems like any other developer but within these constraints has managed to achieve what it has achieved so far. We could have done even much better but for these constraints.�
The chairman of the occasion, Dr George Sipa-Yankey, said the government must help real estate developers to reduce their rates.
This the government can do by providing not only incentives but also key infrastructure such as roads and other amenities.
The launch was held at Regimanuel Gray Ltd's new project site at Katamanso where the company acquired a 1,200 acre land for development.Regimanuel homes The "alt" Homes ranging from 2-bedrooms to 4-bedrooms and more have already been put up for sale.
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