Young professionals and small families residing in Ghana can now benefit from a new housing project, dubbed “One-Bed Expandable Homes” within the Accra Metropolis. Acting Managing Director of Lakeside Estates, facility providers, Salah Kweku Kalmoni said, the company intends to build about 10,000 houses including shopping malls, fuel stations, hospitals and recreational centres within the next decade. The project comes in the wake of counter accusations between the ruling government and the main opposition party over failed projects to provide hundreds of thousands of affordable houses to Ghanaians. Ghana’s current housing deficit is estimated at a million. The former Kufuor-led NPP administration is accused of underhand dealings in the housing project it began across the country but which were not completed before the NPP lost power. The ruling NDC government has also aborted an alleged bogus agreement it entered with STX Korea for the provision of 300,000 housing units. Local estate development group, GREDA, has recently accused the government of bypassing it to contract Guma, a South African company, to provide 500 housing units for security forces. Speakers at the launch including government representative, Architect Stella Arthiabah, admits the price of the house is not affordable to the average income earner but lauded the initiative nonetheless as a step towards decreasing the country’s housing deficit. President of Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Dr. Alexander Tweneboa, reiterated the Association’s call on government to engage them to draft a sustainable housing policy. The one bedroom semi-detached house which comes with space for expansion to two and three-bedrooms with bathroom costs $29,500 (GHc 55,961). The houses have safety features including secret and elevated ring beams for earthquake resistance and reduction of sound transfer. They also have rain harvesting systems to trap 1,000 litres of rain water. Deputy Managing Director of Lakeside Estate, Prince-Jospeh Ayiku, said mortgage facilities are available for young professionals who intend to purchase any of the organization’s houses.