The government of Ghana has initiated steps to prevent issues of money laundering characterising the real estate sector of the country through a new bill.

The Real Estate Authority Bill, 2016, which is before the nation’s legislature, is aimed at sanitising the real estate industry in the country.

Contributors to the motion on June 15 called for speedy passage of the bill to ensure the sector is regulated.

Speaking on the floor of the House, Water Resources Works and Housing Minister, Dr Kwaku Agyemang Mensah was optimistic the bill when passed will resolve all housing-related issues in the country.

He stated, “The purpose of the Bill is to regulate Real Estate brokerage practice and practitioners, real estate transactions and prevent the use of real estate transaction for the purposes of money laundering.”

He also said the Bill will provide for the training, licensing of estate brokers and requires established brokers to provide bonds as guarantees to operators in the property market.

“The Bill provides the detailed trail of records keeping that will help track transactions and the persons involved in the transactions,” he added.

On his part, ranking member on the Works and Housing Committee of Parliament, David Oppong Kusi lauded government for the bill.

He disclosed “the failure and transfer of properties from one person to the other has become a huge industry and has become the mainstay of some economies in the world.”

He also added “No serious business in the world; be it the creation of communities, agriculture, industry, leisure, religion or whatever you want to do cannot be done without recourse to land and landed property.”

He, however, decried the unregulated nature of the industry saying “When an industry as huge as real estate goes unregulated and done at the blind side of the land, things are bound to happen.”