Housing deficit still chronic ... As population growth spiral

 Government is battling the scourge of a housing deficit that has hit the country and  attempts to narrow the  gap has hit a brick wall. Suleiman Mustapha and Jessica Acheampong examines the situation

The country is in the midst of an accommodation crises, despite a two fold rise in the country’s housing stock.     

 Since 2000 to 2010  house and land prices have spiralled out of control,leaving middle class workers struggling to get their feet on the property ladder.

The 2010 Population and Housing Census puts Ghana’s population at 25 million with 3,392,745 houses up from the 2,181,975 recorded in 2000. This  represents a 4.4 per cent rise, the highest annual growth rate in housing stock since 1960 when there were just a little over 636,000 houses.

Ghana’s housing sector, which had been at the centre of past policy failure has experienced an acute housing problem triggered by rapid urbanisation, population and economic growth. 

The Acting Coordinator of the Census Secretariat  of  the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Mr David Kombat in an interview with the GRAPHIC BUSINESS said “the housing stock has increased but this was not enough to offset the growing population.”

Mr Kombat explained that census report indicate that more than 50 per cent of households sleep in one room.

The number of ‘sleeping rooms’ provides an indication of the extent of crowding in households adding overcrowded rooms have health implications arising from, among others, disturbed sleep, increased risk of the spread of infectious diseases.

He added that considering the hot and humid conditions, overcrowding can lead to psychological distress; lack of tolerance, reduced levels of concentration and can affect mental health.

In 2009, the government in an attempt to provide 200,000-unit housing with US$10 billion could not start the project due mainly to boadroom wranglings.

According to him,  the current deficit was a reflection of the levels of income of people as a result of a high unemployment rate and the low incomes of workers.

The private sector through the real estate developers and agencies are building and offering luxurious apartments at high prices to people. For instance, a two bedroom house could cost as much as US$65,000 which automatically the average worker cannot afford.

But a consultant and former head of infrastructure at the country office of the World Bank, Mr Charles Boakye, estimates that if the current trend continued, the country shall have a housing deficit of about 2.8 million by 2025.

According to Mr Boakye if the country is to solve its housing problems by 2025, the country should have been constructing 160,000 houses every year since 2000 to meet new demands and replace dilapidated structures.  Over the 13 years since 2000 the country has accumulated to 1.4 million houses. 

Unfortunately, Ghana has constructed only 378,000 since 2000, at 42,000 per year.  This leaves a deficit of 1.9 million houses as of the end of 2012. Infact If the situation remains the same, the country shall have a housing deficit of 2.8 million by 2025, analysts fear.  

“At this rate, if Ghana maintains the status quo, the country shall have a housing deficit of 2.8 million by 2025”, he said adding that, the  construction industry was bedeviled with multiple problems that hinder the development of the housing industry.

Mr Boakye suggested  an overhaul of the country’s construction industry  for it contribute to the housing delivery, which he says could be done by improving the classification system of  developers and instituting  an effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to measure the performance of  developers.

Other measures he suggested was the establishment of a body by an act of Parliament to classify contractors and developers in civil engineering, building and road works and regulate the sector. 

He also want the government to develop a comprehensive approach to tackle the housing issue by providing  state credit systems and encourage a savings culture.

“All the mining tailings that are buried and used to cover our arable lands in the mining area should be excavated and the material used as aggregates, base or sub-base material in the construction of houses and roads in every part of the country.  These materials could constitute savings of about 20 to 30 per cent in the construction boom that the state shall credit to building and road contractors, and real estate developers.”

“In the case of the mining areas, the government should set housing standards required for mining communities, and every mining community should be planned and developed into a community or township comparable to any mining town in the world”, he added.