The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr. Hackman Owusu Agyeman, has hinted that government will soon come out with a new building code which will stress on a separate project for harvesting rain water before permits would be granted. Mr. Hackman Owusu Agyeman gave the hint when reacting to a call by the Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Oti Boateng to the government to introduce a programme that will enable the general public learn how to harvest enough rain for future use. The occasion was the sod-cutting ceremony for an affordable housing project at Akwadum. The Omanhene observed that the country was blessed with abundant rain during the rainy season but the downpour only run through the gutters and rivers to the sea whereas people could have harvested it for future use to curtail the water shortage crisis often experienced in most part of the country. He therefore suggested that all building projects submitted for approval should be made to have a separate apparatus for rain water harvesting. The Minister hinted that the 106 acres of land, that would see 60 houses to accommodate about 6,000 people, would be extended to all the 10 regions and to the districts. He said the main objective was to develop the regional and district capitals to become conference towns to also host big events to decongest Accra. The estate, that would be fenced, would have a clinic, school, commercial stores and a central sewerage as well as other facilities. "We will make sure whoever buys it occupy it but not turn themselves into landlords and rent them out for profit only to cheat people. Where it could not be sold, it would be rented out to civil servants to avoid cheating and discrimination by many landlords", he made it clear. Mr. Yaw Barimah, the Eastern Regional Minister, earlier in his welcome address, observed that Ghana, like many other countries in the developing world has a serious housing problem. He noted that the latest figures put the country’s housing deficit at about 500,000 units with an annual need of over 100,000 for the next 10 years hence government making housing one of its top priorities. ''The importance of this programme therefore cannot be downplayed viewed against the backdrop that it would rescue workers from the shackles of landlords who demand high rent advance,” he observed. Meanwhile, the government has introduced a mortgage fund to enable most of the youth to purchase some of the unit houses. Source: The Chronicle