The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association is calling for the government to speed up the establishment of the proposed Ghana Housing Authority.

The Association however believes that ensuring the authority is ran by technocrats and industry players who understand the country’s housing sector is key to ensuring it remains relevant in addressing the country’s housing challenge.

In an interview with Citi Business News, Executive Director, Samuel Amegayibor of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association while welcoming the proposal stressed that the Housing Authority could only be effective when its operations would be devoid of political interferences.

“I want to believe that it is time to establish this National Housing Authority and the only caution I want to give is that we have too many institutions that are run by politicians, if this housing authority is established, we should allow technocrats to fill that office, people who understand what housing is about. How to construct housing, how to finance housing and all the necessary ingredients that brings housing together should be allowed for technocrats to run. The Minister can continue to head the ministry and supersede everything under housing, they should deal with policy and influence policies that drive the agenda for housing. But they should leave the day-to-day administration of how housing is supplied in this country to the technocrats.”

One of Ghana’s longstanding socio-economic challenges is the availability of affordable and decent housing for its citizens. Presently, Ghana has a housing deficit of about 2 million.

Factors such as land litigation, high cost of construction and demand for rent advances of over a year which places financial constraints on many tenants have further compounded the issue.

The New Patriotic Party under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo as part of efforts towards addressing this challenge proposed some measures in their manifesto for the 2020 elections.

It proposed the establishment of two new bodies, the Ghana Housing Authority and the National Housing and Mortgage Finance Company.

The authority will be responsible for improving the legal and regulatory framework, creating land banks, providing infrastructure, and standardizing houses.

The finance company will manage the Mortgage and Housing Fund set up in the 2020 budget, provide incentives to enable the private sector build community housing units, and create jobs in the process across in the country.