Owning a house under the current economic conditions remains a wish for many young people in the country’s capital.

While some have blamed the lack of funds, others have attributed their inability to complete their building projects to the high cost of housing.

That is the story of 28-year-old Issa Mohammed, who has decried the hikes in the prices of building materials.

Like many other people, Issa’s dreams of owning his own house has not been achieved, despite his daily hard work.

He says his job, which requires him to load sand into tipper trucks for delivery, is intense and energy-sapping.

Currently, his building project is on hold due to a hike in the prices of building materials.

“This job needs no training, but neither is it for the fainthearted. You need to be strong and eat well, so I eat foods like banku and beans to gain enough energy. I was hoping to get building materials at lower prices, but the prices keep soaring.

“I cannot afford the materials, so the work on the building has been suspended. If I am unlucky, the little I have done would be destroyed when the rains start and I would be rendered homeless,” he said in an interview on the JoyNews’ Living Standard Series.

Under the Mallam, the overpass is where contractors from the Kasoa and beyond get sand and stones for building.

But many of the workers have bemoaned the low patronage in recent times, a situation they say makes them quiet and lazy days most times.

Issa is one of the lucky ones to get a tip for today. He badly needs the cash to complete his two-bedroom housing project in Kasoa.

He said that he drives commercial buses to augment his wages from time to time, but that has still not made it easy for him to complete the project.

According to him, building a house in Ghana in this current economy is no joke.

The cost of carting sand and stones to project sites has tripled due to increased fuel prices.

General Secretary of the Mallam Tipper Drivers’ Union, Ameyaw Ankemo, noted that one trip of sand now cost more than ¢1000.

“The price of a trip of sand was ¢250 last December, but it has jumped to ¢400. Aside from that, fuel costs ¢600.”

“To make a trip of sand, you should be paying 1000. Instead, drivers have been dragged to court because they are unable to meet the sales target of their masters.”

Suppliers are also on the low because, for days, orders have diminished, making it almost impossible to keep the business running.

Some of them are leaning on their spiritual beliefs to sail through these challenging times.

On the other side of town, building material dealers are bracing up for an impending increase in cement prices.

With the prices of building materials rising steadily, some fear businesses may lay off some labours.