Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ghana’s Minister of Works and Housing, has refuted allegations that private developers are purchasing affordable housing units.
In response to claims made by some members of the public that the affordable housing apartments were for sale, he made these remarks.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah noted, though, that private developers are simply contributing the funds required to see the housing units through to completion and operationalization.
“We are not selling the projects to the contractors of the private entities that we’re bringing to this project,” Nkrumah clarified during a tour of some abandoned state housing projects that had been put on hold for more than a decade because of legal disputes with contractors.
Six weeks ago, work resumed on these projects, with private contractors being invited to collaborate with State Housing to complete them.
After construction is finished, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah emphasized, the properties will be offered for sale to the general public at reasonable prices.
“The government has already invested $200 million in it. Private entities will come and invest an estimated $100 million. Then together, we will complete the project and sell the homes as affordable housing to Ghanaians,” he stated.
He explained that this approach was necessary due to limited fiscal space, noting that the government could not finance all the projects independently.