Government on course in resolving accommodation challenges

Tema, June 7, GNA - Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Works and Housing on Wednesday visited housing units, being put up for personnel of the Ghana Navy to ease their accommodation challenges.

The visit was to enable the parliamentarians to familiarise themselves with the extent of work done and advice government accordingly.

The project, which is more than 90 per cent completed, is being undertaken by Amandi Holding Limited, an Israeli construction firm.

It started in 2014 and is expected to be completed in August this year.

It is a Government funded project comprising 368 housing units at the cost of GHȼ101 million, which was being pre-financed by the Israeli contractors.

It also includes football and basketball courts, recreational facilities for children, pavements, roads, drainage, tanks and water reservoirs to ensure constant supply of water.

Mr David-Ben Ayun, the General Manager of Amandi Holdings Limited, briefed the members of the Committee on the various facilities while the parliamentarians also took turns to ask questions for clarification.

Mr Ayun and engineers of Amandi took members of the Committee round the project site.

The Chairman of the Committee, Nana Amoako, who is also the Member of Parliament for Upper Denkyira East, on behalf of the Committee, expressed satisfaction about the extent and quality of work done.

When asked about what parliamentarians would do to reduce the housing deficit in the country, he said mortgaging and offering soft loans to the citizens in order to afford accommodation was the best way to resolving the accommodation challenge.

He called on the private sector to support government's efforts to accommodate the citizenry, saying the government alone cannot provide the about 1.7 million accommodation deficit in the country.

He also suggested that government should take measures in addressing power supply to public accommodation facilities by adopting solar energy through the provision of solar panels to ensure constant supply of electricity.

Alhaji Yahaya Yakubu, a Director in-charge of Housing at the Ministry of Works and Housing, explained the various specifications for the project and assured that arrangement had been made for regular maintenance of the facilities.

He said other social facilities like kindergarten, health post, community centre and market would be provided in future expansion programmes.

He said government had provided similar accommodation facilities to the Bureau of National Investigations personnel about two years ago.

GNA

By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA