As Ghana’s capital, Accra, grapples with congestion and a growing housing deficit, stakeholders in the construction industry are calling for stronger collaboration between the government and the private sector to tackle these pressing issues.

Project Manager for Cities and Habitats, Daniel Ohene Adu, has warned that without strategic partnerships, efforts to decongest Accra and expand affordable housing will remain a challenge. He emphasized that government intervention is crucial in ensuring effective urban planning and sustainable housing development.

“At the end of the day, the population keeps increasing. People are coming from the hinter lands, those in Accra are also growing up and the working class is also growing. We are contributing to a major housing and property deficit”, he says.

A recent report by the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry highlights a significant surge in the cost of key construction materials, with prices increasing by 18% over the past year. This price hike has intensified cost pressures on developers and homeowners, making housing even less affordable for many Ghanaians.

At the Accra Academy 1991 Old Boys Association’s reunion commemoration, the president, Nana Boahene Asamoah, stressed the need for a strategic approach to policy implementation. He urged the Mahama-led administration to adopt policies that are not only well-intended but also practical and effective in addressing economic challenges.

According to him, “the problem we have had in this country is implementation, if we are able to bridge that gap, then we can satisfy a lot of the big things we want to do”.

Daniel Ohene Adu further called on the Finance Minister to consider subsidies on construction materials to make housing more affordable and accelerate urban development. He stated that, “it is possible to do housing, it is possible not to borrow to do housing if the right counsel is given to the ministry”.