The Works and Housing Committee of Parliament has commended the State Housing Company (SHC) Limited for its innovative efforts in addressing the Housing deficit in Ghana.
Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, the Chairman of the Works and Housing Committee of Parliament, gave the commendation on Thursday at the end of a day’s tour of some housing projects being undertaken by the SHC Ltd in the Adenta Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The members of the Committee, which inspected the level of progress at the various facilities, were conducted around by Mr Kwabena Ampofo Appiah, the Managing Director of SHC Ltd.
The facilities visited include Little London (or SHC Gardens), Urban Premier Court and Legacy Court, all at Adenta and the Surge Homes at Amrahia in the Adenta Municipality.
Mr Asiamah said the Committee was impressed at the level of progress at the various housing facilities visited.
He lauded the new Management of the SHC for their innovation and foresight in turning around the fortunes of the Company as part of efforts aimed at addressing the housing deficit in the country.
“We are so happy and impressed about the greater innovation, creativity and enterprise that has gone into operations,” the Chairman said.
He reiterated that housing was a major need of the country and that providing affordable housing was a must to every Government.
He said as lawmakers, they were very happy that there was an intervention by the Government to ensure that decent accommodations was provided for the people.
He said in recent years prices of building materials such as cement and iron rods had been escalating because of global issues.
“…So, if you have a state agency that is trying its best within these circumstances to provide decent accommodations for our people we must commend them,” Mr Asiamah said.
“SHC, some years ago nearly collapsed, you know it, it nearly collapsed, so if we have a new leadership at the State Housing Company and they are providing this kind of leadership to ensure that we have enough accommodations we should commend them.”
Mr Asiamah said the housing deficit in Ghana was in excess of about two million; declaring that “We have a huge challenge to provide accommodations for our people”.
He further commended the Government for creating the enabling environment and the necessary support to enable the SHC fulfill its mandate of providing housing for the people.
He said the MPs were, however, concerned about the cost of the housing units and that it was obvious that not everyone could afford them.
“We must admit that even the middle class will struggle to afford, but at least so far as an attempt has been made to ensure that some people can have decent places, we can still explore other areas; so that those that we need to also meet their demands, those are also addressed holistically,” he said.
“We are concerned about the vulnerable people, because they are in the majority, so we must speak for them, we must address their concerns.”
Mr Vincent Oppong Asamoah, the Ranking Member of the Works and Housing Committee of Parliament, said the housing facilities visited were highly commendable.
He, however, expressed worry over their high prices, which according to him the average Ghanaian worker could not afford to buy.
He appealed to the SHC to revive its Department of Rural Housing to ensure that affordable housing was provided in the rural areas for the people.
Mr Kwabena Ampofo Appiah, the Managing Director of SHC Ltd, said the Little London housing project was started around 2009/2010 under the administration of late President John Evans Atta Mills, which was later abandoned due to a lot of legal issues.
He said following an investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) into the project, the developer who had sued the SHC had stopped showing up in court, because a lot of criminality had be unearth.
He said they had been able to get the go ahead to go back to site and continue with the project.
He noted that the SHC would ensure that once work resumes on the Little London housing project, which was at its completion stage, it could be completed within six to seven months.
