Housing policy must be fully implemented - Rashid Pelpuo

Member of Parliament (MP) for Wa central and former Minister of State in charge of Public Private Partnership, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo has expressed disappointment over the inability of Ghanaians to have access to decent housing.

Dr. Pelpuo believes access to utility services and lack of decent shelter are major challenges facing the present day Ghanaian.

The MP for Wa Central, in response to a statement from the Minister for Works and Housing, Mr. Samuel Atta Akyea on the floor of Parliament Wednesday, blamed past governments for the current situation saying they failed to prioritise and address the housing deficit in the country.

“The greatest challenge we have in this country is about housing. And it is estimated by the minister himself … that about 1.7 million deficit is what we’re facing in this country. It is even estimated that by 2018 this number will rise up to 2 million gab and this is very serious,” Dr. Pelpuo disclosed.

He also condemned the high rent payments, landlords demand from tenants saying it drains the coffers of the average Ghanaian, particularly the youth.

“The reason is that it is only in Ghana that people pay this high rent and rent in advance all times when people want houses. And so young people who want to start life and who have very little money to pay for decent homes are forced to borrow money and it stifles their ability to progress,” he emphasised.

He urged government to fully implement the housing policy and also partner the private sector to address the challenges by completing housing projects that were started by the previous John Mahama administration so as to improve the living standard of citizens.