The Minister for Works and Housing recently stated that the government was set to recommence works on the Tamale affordable housing project. Mr. Francis Asenso-Boakye said that the projects are intended to provide accommodation for the people of the city’s low income areas.
During his two-day working tour to the Northern Region to inspect the Ministry’s assets and liabilities, which also included a visit at the project site in Wamale, a Tamale community, Mr Asenso-Boakye announced that the State House Company Limited had been tasked with assessing the housing structures and taking inventory of the land allotted for the project in order to begin full construction work.
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At the site of the Tamale affordable housing project, there were around three structures of storey buildings in varying stages of construction that had been abandoned since 2009. The project was initially started during former President John Kufuor’s reign but it was stopped when he retired.
In the recent evaluation conducted by the State Housing Company Limited, the assessment showed that there was an encroachment upon the land that had been allocated for the project. Initially the project had been given 261 acres of land, but the State Housing Company Limited’s assessment revealed that it now only had roughly 94 acres of land.
The Ghanaian Minister Asenso-boakye, mentioned that he knew the people of Tamale wanted to see the project progress and the government would do everything possible to see the project continue. He also called on the leadership of the region to help stop the encroachment on land acquired by the government for the Tamale affordable housing project.
Subsidized housing
He claimed that the government was working with the private sector to build affordable housing projects in which the government would subsidize up to 20% of the total construction cost to make it affordable for the people. The government was also working with banks so that people on payrolls, whether private or public, could buy these residences using their wages as a mortgage that they can pay back over a set period of time.
Meanwhile, Mr Asenso-Boakye also paid visits to the Choggu Low-Cost Estate, Sakasaka Estate, the Ghana Immigration Service housing unit, and major drains in the Kalariga, Vittin, Koblimahagu and Gurugu areas of Tamale Metropolis, and also the Municipality of Sagnarigu. He went on to appreciate the efforts of Tamale and Sagnarigu assemblies to control floods in the country by trying to establish a Ghana Hydrological Authority.
On the other hand, the Northern Regional Minister Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu launched a sanitation campaign to improve drainage in the region. To stop silting of the drains, he called on residents to clean their environment and properly dispose of refuse.
