Ghana: Pushes For Use of More Local Materials in Housing, Other Infrastructure Projects

By Richard Adorsu-

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Accra GHANA- The government of Ghana is pushing for the use of more local materials in the construction of housing and other infrastructure projects in the country.

It has already directed District Assembles to use more local materials when it comes to provision of houses on various government workers and infrastructure projects partly financed by the government.

The Minister for Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah disclosed this in an interview saying “Government has started a District Housing programme and we are going to make sure that local building materials are used, so that we can bring the cost of these developments down.

According to him, this is part of the government’s policy direction to help reduce the cost of these projects and make it affordable for Ghanaians. According to Mr. Nkrumah, the District Housing Programme, would go a long way to deal with the rural urban drift, as well as provide housing for public servants pushed into those areas to work.

He added that, the government is looking at extending incentives to other private developers that are willing to implement government policy. The minister also revealed that, developers with innovative technology that lowers costs for “Government cannot do this alone and therefore there is the need to see how to partner with the private sector in the provision of houses and projects in the country”

Mr. Nkrumah also revealed that he is currently engaging the Minister of Finance on how some of these taxes should be structured in order not to hurt these developers when it comes to the provision of affordable housing.

The minister also added that, government is engaging the Ghana Association of Banks on how to reduce cost of credit for these developers.

For New Africa Daily News Richard Adorsu Reports, Africa Correspondent