The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), on Friday, cut the sod for the construction of a 6000-housing unit for its members in the Nsakyi town of Akuapem South District in the Eastern Region.

The 150-acre land housing unit dubbed, “GRNMA Nurses and Midwives Village”, will comprise one and two-bedroom self-contained apartments expandable to three bedrooms and a three-bedroom apartment.

The project, funded by the Stanbic Bank through the Ministry of Finance and the National Housing and Mortgage Fund and is expected to be completed within eight months after the sod cutting.

Under the scheme supported by Omri Projects, the interest on the mortgage loan was pegged at 12 per cent.

President of the GRNMA, Mrs Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, said the project is aimed at making it possible for nurses and midwives to own their own homes before going on pension.

The step was necessary as the paltry pension paid by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust to public sector workers including nurses and midwives is unable to support building or purchasing a home.

She added that the Association was in the process of acquiring more litigation free lands within the environs of Accra to give members the opportunity to have their own houses before retirement.

Mrs Ofori-Ampofo said the Association was also working on acquiring lands in all its 10 administrative regional branches for members.

The Association, as part of efforts to motivate its members, was ready to partner stakeholders including government, employers, civil society, corporate Ghana and the media to ensure that members worked whole-heartedly after having secured accommodation.

“We, therefore, need every nurse and midwife out there to formally register as members of the GRNMA to fully enjoy all the good things that are coming up in the nearest future,” she said.

Nana Otobour Djan Kwasi II, the Aburihene and Akuapem Adontenhene, who chaired the sod-cutting ceremony, said the Akuapem area was elated to house nurses and midwives who played a key role in saving lives in the country.

He gave the Association assurance of their support to enable them to effectively execute the project.

The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Osei Bonsu Amoah, giving the keynote address, guaranteed the full support and cooperation of the Ministry for the project.

Thankfully, the Nsakyi township has access to basic amenities like water and electricity, and was ideal for the implementation of a project of its kind.

Mr Amoah, also a Member of Parliament for the Akuapim South Constituency, said the project would raise the value of the Nsakyi community and the entire Akuapem land.

He urged them to ensure the completion of the project within the stipulated time frame to avoid making it an "abandoned project".