Government must critically address Ghana’s land acquisition and documentation system to ease the burden associated with the provision of decent accommodation, the Managing Director of Square Mile Homes, Akomea Agyei has said.
According to him, the inconvenience of meeting up with land disputes after heavy investments will continue to drive potential developers away.
He made the call during the opening of its first housing units at Katamanso, Adentan-Amanfrom on the Adentan-Dodowa road 15 minutes drive from the Adentan barrier in the Greater Accra region.
The Johanna Court is made up three and four bedroom semi-detached homes with enviable amenities, tight security for convenient living.
Ghana is estimated to have a deficit of over 1.7 million housing units. This has been attributed to the inadequate supply of homes each year due to the high cost of producing housing units.
But, Mr. Akomea Agyei explained that the payment of compensations coupled with huge taxes in building materials is affecting the real estate industry.
He indicated that the high costs of properties have priced out the majority of prospective homeowners and compounded the housing challenge.
As an immediate measure, Mr. Akomea Agyei called for tax incentives on building materials to prevent threatened companies from exiting the market.
Mr. Akomea Agyei said their aim is to give a true meaning to affordable housing.
“Jahanna Court is situated in a quiet and serene environment from the noisy and busy streets of Accra for residents to enjoy a convenient lifestyle with interesting state of the art facilities. Discover contemporary living in an environment where comfort, elegance, security and community are the order of the day,” he added.
Mr. Akomea Agyei said there is a huge housing deficit in the country and government alone cannot address it, but rather would have to partner the private sector developers so that they can meet the target.
The Square Mile Homes MD attributed the expensive cost of houses in the country to the high taxes on building materials.
He indicated that, estate developers are committed to providing affordable housing if the right environment is created to prevent them from incurring huge debts.
Mr. Akomea Agyei, therefore, appealed to the government to swiftly intervene to “rescue” the housing sector from collapse.
He indicated that many companies are exiting the market due to the huge taxes on materials they import into the country.
Source: Square Mile Homes
