Accra, July 12, GNA - Ghana requires over 90,000 building units per annum to meet the housing needs of the public, but currently it can only achieve less than 40 per cent of the figure, due to numerous challenges including funding.

To meet these challenges, the government has instituted various policies and programmes aimed at encouraging private sector participation and stakeholder involvement in providing affordable housing schemes to meet the high demands of the public. Miss Marilyn Efua Houadjeto, Director of Image Consortium said at the Media launch of the 5th Ghana International Building and Construction Exhibition and Seminar on Thursday that Ghana needed to move at a faster pace to be able to meet the high market demands for housing.

The exhibition, which is slated for October 12 to 15, 2007 under the theme; "National Assignment: 50 Years of Building and Housing the People - The Way Forward", would afford stakeholders the opportunity to reflect on the past, take a cue from the challenges of the housing industry and strategise on the way forward to improve upon the challenges.

Miss Houadjeto, who is also the Exhibition Director, said Ghana needed to move to the next level of ensuring quality housing and construction services after 50 years of independence, just like in the utility service sector, where telephone and Internet had become almost standard needs of the people.

She explained that the exhibition and seminars were initiated four years ago by the Image Consortium to provide a forum for dialogue on current issues impacting on stakeholders in the construction and building industry, and also showcase quality, innovative products and services for all stages of construction, finishing and furnishing. Miss Houadjeto acknowledged that though much was being done to bridge the huge gap, there was the need to double up efforts and called on all stakeholders in the building and construction industry to participate to make the exhibition a success.

She said this years' exhibition would have a two-day conference which would delve into the challenges and opportunities inherent in the system and further look at leveraging on the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) objectives of providing an enabling environment to step up private housing development. She commended the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing and other private estate developers for initiating housing projects across the country, but advised architects to be more innovative and unique in their designs, "as that is what brings out our Ghanaian or African culture".

She also called on government to develop a building policy that would promote the economic use of land by putting up more flats, high rise apartments and community serviced residential areas. "By doing this we would not need to commute across town for shopping, looking for medical services and schools for our children, because such well-planned communities would have all these facilities for easy access."

Miss Houadjeto attributed the current problem facing the capital in respect of indiscriminate building to poor implementation of the actual documented planned lay-out and the enforcement of the rules, rather than poor planning for the city.

She expressed the hope that with the rejuvenation of the Ghana Institute of Planners and the development of the capacity of the relevant institutions such as the Town and Country Planning, Lands Commission and the Land Title Registry, these issues would be addressed. Mr Kwamena Bartels, outgoing Minister of Information and National Orientation, who was the special guest of honour, commended the organisers for the success chalked so far and appealed to the media for more coverage and education on the exhibition to create awareness among the public.

He said the Ministry was proud to be associated with the event and would lend whatever support it had to ensure its success and expressed the hope that the exhibition would lead to addressing some of the urgent needs of country's housing industry. Mr. Christopher Addae, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, who officially launched the event said the country had not attained an average housing requirement since independence due to challenges such as funding and land acquisition. He stated that government for the past few years had succeeded in convincing and encouraging the banks to provide mortgage loans to cater for needs of both private contractors and for individual housing projects.

"Government is also talking with insurance companies in the country to also consider investing in the housing industry and we hope this will help make affordable housing real to Ghanaians after 50 years," he said.

Mr Addae appealed for participation of all concerned with building and construction to make the programme successful.