We haven't really put in practical solutions to Ghana's housing deficit — Kwadwo Poku

A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) national communications team, Kwadwo Poku, has raised concerns over what he describes as the lack of practical and sustainable solutions to Ghana’s persistent housing deficit.

His comments come at a time when the Works and Housing Ministry estimates that Ghana’s housing deficit has risen to about 1.8 million units, largely driven by rapid urbanisation and population growth in major cities.

The debate over housing delivery has intensified following renewed government interventions aimed at addressing the gap, including recent policy announcements and housing projects.

President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday, May 9, launched the Green City Housing Project at Dedesua in the Ashanti Region as part of a broader “housing reset” agenda to tackle the deficit.

Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews’ AM Show on Monday, May 11, Mr. Poku argued that successive governments have failed to move beyond political rhetoric into practical implementation.

According to him, while housing promises are frequently made, the numbers and delivery models often raise questions about feasibility and clarity.

“You look at housing deficits, you would only find it in big urban areas. Accra is the highest because everybody wants to move to Accra,” he said.

He added: “Every government has played lip service to this problem, and we haven’t really put in practical solutions.”

The NPP communicator further questioned the scale and definition of housing units often announced by governments.

He argued that the figures are sometimes unrealistic without proper breakdowns of what is being delivered.

He cited past housing initiatives that were launched with high expectations but failed to fully materialise, pointing to projects such as STX and others as examples of uncompleted or under-delivered housing interventions.

“The amount of housing units everybody now claim they want to build is not practical,” he noted.