Gov't focused on making housing affordable – Atta Akyea insists

The Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea  has stated that government’s prime focus is to make acquisition of house affordable to all Ghanaians.  Atta Akyea made the statement when Ghana joined the world to celebrate World Habitat Day which fell on 2nd October 2017, under the theme: “Housing Policies, Affordable Homes” in Accra. On the floor of Parliament, the minister made reference to Luke 9:58 that “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nest, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head”. Atta Akyea indicated that the New Patriotic Party government is in tune with the scriptures, reason why it has a sacred duty of wiping out the over 1.7 million housing unit deficit as captured in page 84 of the party’s manifesto. Assuring the house of government’s commitment to providing affordable housing, he reiterated that a new Rent Act would be enacted to remove bottlenecks in the existing one in order to strike the  balance between the needs of tenants and landlords. According to him,  the new Rent Act will ensure that the rights of vulnerable tenants are safeguarded, and also ensure that real estate developers are not discouraged from investing in housing. The minister called for a national commitment for effective and inclusive housing policies. The Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu supported the minister’s commitment in ensuring that the huge housing deficit situation is resolved. He charged the minister to go beyond rhetoric and walk his talk. Onua FM| Owoahene Omari Acheampong|3news.com]]>