A Minister of State in-charge of Works and Housing, Freda Prempeh, has joined Ministers of States from Africa, attending the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Symposium of the Shelter Afrique, underway in Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon.
Established 40 years ago, Shelter Afrique is a company advocating the need for African governments to pull resources to provide affordable homes to their citizens to address the acute housing shortage across the continent.
Speaking in a telephone interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) from Yaoundé, Dr. Prempeh, also the Member of Parliament for Tano North, said she had already made strong arguments on Ghana’s housing deficit at the AGM to woo Africa and other investors around the world.
Other Ministers of States drawn from Zimbabwe, Namibia, Nigeria, Gambia and Cote D’Ivoire are attending the AGM that provides a platform for African governments to work together to re-evaluate Shelter Afrique’s policies and strategies to make them even more responsive in addressing the housing deficit in the continent.
The event, being held on the theme “Four Decades of Affordable Housing Policies in Africa: Mapping the Next 40 Years” also marks the 40 years of Shelter Afrique’s existence.
Dr. Prempeh emphasised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s determination to address Ghana’s housing deficit, through alternative building materials, rural housing development, the rent to own and national housing mortgage schemes and mortgage financing.
She explained her Ministry was currently collaborating with a technology company to explore possibilities of adding value to local materials such as laterite and burnt bricks and plastic bottles in the building sector.
“I have also highlighted the national rental assistance scheme and explained to the AGM how the State Housing Company, the Tema Development Company and other agencies under the Ministry works and I believe something good would come out of it,” Dr. Prempeh stated.
