The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has charged the Northern Regional Coordinating Council to immediately take steps to halt encroachment on the land designated for the Tamale Affordable Housing Project.
Expressing worry about the rate of encroachment on the land, he asked the Regional Coordinating Director and the Municipal Chief Executive to strengthen their engagement with the chief to forestall any further encroachment.
Currently, he noted that the project was sited on a 94-acre land instead of the original 261 acres of land.
The Minister was speaking yesterday during the commencement of a two-day working tour to the Northern Region to inspect the progress of projects being undertaken by the Ministry and to familiarise with issues on ground.
Among other things, he took turns to assess the state of the low-cost housing units being built to provide accommodation facility to junior and senior public service workers in the regional capital.
Inspecting the 24-unit apartment for the Ghana Immigration Service housing project, which was being executed by the State Housing Company Limited, he expressed satisfaction with the progress of work so far.
The project, which was within schedule of its 24-month completion period, Mr Asenso-Boakye said was expected to bring relief to officers of the service who were posted to work in the region.
The Minister indicated that the construction works and other housing developments across the country were indicative of government’s continuous commitment to provide decent accommodation for all public service workers.
With a strategic new direction towards the provision of affordable houses for Ghanaians, he said the Ministry was poised to collaborate with the private sector to ensure that there was a significant reduction in the national housing deficit.
He emphasised the need to create jobs for local developers in Tamale and added that, the various projects being embarked on would create the needed avenue to achieve that objective.
“Government’s focus is to increase the country’s housing stock by subsidising the construction cost by 40 per cent through the provision of lands, service amenities and infrastructure,” Mr Asenso-Boakye added.
He was hopeful that the Ministry’s Redevelopment Projects, which ultimately optimises the use of land in prime areas while increasing the housing stock, will be replicated to further address the housing needs of the people of Tamale.
Northern Regional Coordinating Director, Alhassan Issahaku, on behalf of the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shaini Shaibu, expressed gratitude to Mr Asenso-Boakye for the working visit and assessing housing and drainage situations in the region.
He noted that the Minister’s working tour to the region offers some relief to the people of Tamale whose concerns on housing, in particular, have been profound lately.
BY TIMES REPORTER
