The University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) is urging the government’s efforts to provide affordable housing to be urgently reclassified because of their high expenses.
The research organization argued that it is crucial to reclassify current public housing initiatives where housing units cost more than GHC1.14 million (roughly US$100,000 at the current exchange rate), which it insisted cannot be characterized as affordable for middle- and low-income earners.
The Director of ISSER, Prof. Peter Quartey, asserted that the term “affordable housing” needs to be broken down by reclassifying projects to fit social class specifics to effectively address the ever-growing demand, combat the ongoing housing deficit crisis, and make public housing projects truly affordable for those who need them most.
“We need to, perhaps, redefine the words ‘affordable housing’ because the poor who need these housing units and are on the streets do not get access to them as they are beyond their means. What we have designed so far is for the rich and middle-income brackets,” he said.
He said that in South Africa, for instance, tiny housing units with solar panels are developed on the outskirts of town and are genuinely cheap to the poor, citing best practices abroad.
He concluded by saying that alternate building materials and methods should be taken into consideration since the cost of materials in Ghana is identified as a factor that raises pricing.
He emphasized that just because there are more housing units on the market than in the past does not mean that they are all inexpensive or suitable for every person’s needs or preferences.
Source: b&ft
