President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government intends to roll out a new social housing initiative for workers, driven at the district level to reduce financial barriers to ownership.
He said such a housing scheme would be implemented in partnership with organised labour such as teachers, nurses, and doctors.
The President made the revelation on Saturday when he officially broke grounds for construction works to begin on the Green City Housing Project at Dedesua near Kumasi.
“We are also pursuing geographical equity. Housing must not be confined to only major cities. Regional and district capitals must also benefit from our housing initiatives.” The President said.
“A low-cost housing scheme for public sector workers is being implemented in partnership with organized labor and financial institutions.”
President Mahama reiterated that nurses, teachers, doctors, and civil servants must have access to safe and dignified homes.
He noted that at the height of this effort was an innovative housing financing framework, anchored in a GH¢3 billion revolving funds.
The President explained that the Fund was going to be in partnership between the government, organized labour and the private sector.
This, he said, was to enable workers to acquire homes in cedis with manageable long-term repayments.
“What is going to happen is government organized labour, Social Security and National Insurance Trusts (SSNIT) and the Republic Bank of Ghana, are going to create a GH¢3 billion revolving funds,” he stated.
“Companies like SHC, TDC and all the housing companies will be given credit from this fund to build houses, and then the banks will give mortgages for their workers to buy the houses and pay over a 15-to-20-year period.”
He also announced that these houses were going to be indexed in cedis, not dollars, adding that, if one takes a mortgage on the house, it would be in cedis and not in dollars.
This, the President said would solve the problem where when the cedi was under a lot of pressure, it led to increasing mortgages for people, saying, happily, the cedi had stabilized and was holding its own against their foreign currencies.
“The houses will be indexed in cedis, and we know that because of the low inflation rates, it means that the cost of the house is not going to continue to rise and duly.”
President Mahama reiterated that this was a Ghanaian solution they had derived that was designed for Ghanaian reality.
He said the Green City Housing Project was therefore a critical intervention that had come at the right time.
He noted that the Green City Housing Project was situated on 200 acres of land generously made available by the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, adding that the project would deliver more than 1,000 units within a carefully planned integrated community.
He said it combined modern designs with environmental sustainability and sets a new benchmark for urban development in Ghana.
President Mahama said beyond housing, the Green City Housing Project would create jobs, simulate local enterprise, and generate lasting economic opportunities across the Bosumtwi District.
“This is not just about shelter, it is about building a completely verbal community that is safe, affordable and dignified,” the President said.
“To our partners and private investors, this project signals Ghana’s commitment to transparency, predictability and partnership.”
President Mahama said properties in the Green City Housing Project were going to be available to all Ghanaians, both at home and abroad.
Source: GNA
