Government weak in real estates – Koans CEO

Chief Executive Officer of Koans Building Solutions, Mr Kofi Anokye, has said the Akufo-Addo government underperformed in the real estate sector in its first year.

According to him, industry players are still borrowing at a high interest rate of 30 per cent, a situation making the work difficult.

He told Chief Jerry Forson on Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM on Wednesday, 17 January that: “The government has so far not helped the real estate sector in the country, and we must be frank about it.

“Nobody in the real estate sector has a chunk of money sitting down to run the business, we rely mostly on the banks and other institutions. Now if you are borrowing at 30 per cent, that means over 45 per cent to 50 per cent of the money is gone already within that two years you are using to acquire the land. And, so, before you even build the houses, a chunk of the money is spent on the acquisition of the land. So, for us in the real estate sector, the government’s performance is negative.”

In an article he wrote earlier on the general performance of the government, Mr Anokye scored the government 64 per cent.

The Ghana Property Hall of Famer in that article indicated that the NPP, in its quest to meet its campaign promises, did not factor certain things into its programme since they could not have envisaged those concerns while in opposition.

According to him: “Quality leadership is about making decisions today with tomorrow in mind”.

“Governing for applause is a very dangerous thing. Be strategic and flexible and surely you will succeed”, he stated in his concluding comments.

Assessing government in 10 key areas, the estate developer intimated that listening to critics is key to achieving development for the people of Ghana.

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW

FREE SHS: 59%

I was of the view that involving the private schools and making boarders pay for the boarding charges while government absorb every charge that has to do with the impartation of knowledge would have forced many parents to opt for the day option and thereby doing away with the pressure on the few boarding facilities and the cost of funding the program.

Education should be a shared responsibility between parents and the state, taking away their parental involvement will not only breed irresponsible parents but also make children less dependent on their parents. Disobedience is the potential result if children.

PAPERLESS PORT SYSTEM: 85%

The paperless port system is the best thing that happened to the port as far as revenue generation is concerned. With report of almost doubled revenue since the introduction attests to the fact that it is a novelty worthy of praise.

Additionally, in view of the fact that the system guarantees efficiency, importers are now paying higher than they are used to and that is affecting their businesses.

Government needs to respond to this by reducing taxes because taxes are introduced with the losses in mind and therefore since efficiency has been achieved, relief should be given to importers by way of tax reduction to encourage people to embrace it.

ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT: 60%

Increasing the growth rate from 3.6% to 9%, decreasing MPR from 25% to 21% and reducing inflation by almost 4 percent is a step forward.

In the end, government can pride itself with a tall list of economic successes chalked which I concur but as long as exchange rate keeps getting higher, lending rate not doing better: it will not have the trickle-down effect on businesses and individuals. This is the only relevant economic success as far as Ghanaians are concerned

On the management of the economy, I will give them 60%

REMOVAL OF NUISANCE TAXES: 48%

I believe the removal of nuisance was one of the political facial dressings in itself because it did not in any way affect the cost of doing business at both the businessman and consumers point of view so it is much ado about nothing. If government want to help us, then they should go to the corporate tax, they should look at the Petroleum Management Levi, Energy Sector Levy, they should look at the cost of importation and other relevant areas which can impact positively on the cost of doing business.

SECURITY: 45%

I believe that when such disregard for the laws of our land rears their head dressed in party colours, we must look at making statements to discourage it in the future.

We need to take a strong stance against such crimes because tolerated vigilante groups can grow to become rebel groups.

I give government 45% for security and that is very charitable given how poor security issues were handled in 2017.

PLANTING FOR FOOD AND JOBS: 72%

In view of this, I will rate Planting Food and Jobs 72% because it is the answer to the declining food production sector which is by far the largest employer in the country.

Going forward, the program should be used to encourage more youth into Agriculture with support that does not require being a party member to access it.

Depoliticising this all important policy is key to its success and sustainability.

The story of President Kufour’s Corporate Village Enterprise (COVE) and the Integrated Action Project for Cassava Starch Production all under PSI should serve as a guide if we don’t want this policy to end up like the above laudable initiatives ended.

FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL MINING (GALAMSEY): 75%

To fight Galamsey and sustain the small-scale mining which is the preserve of Ghanaians, we need a plan and sustained effort.

I believe going forward, government will put measures in place to keep the sector active so that the legitimate operators suffering for the wrongs of others can get back to work.

I will give government 75 for the fight against illegal mining because it takes boldness to stand against institutionalized wrong.

POWER: 65%

On energy, I will give government 65% because they have managed to make Ghanaians totally forget the demons of ‘dumsor’ with a more consistent power supply but at very high cost to consumers.

Going forward though, we need to decentralise our power supply, look at mini hydro dams where feasible, solar and wind where need be.

Power: Good

GHANA POST GPS: 70

What I recommend that should be done is for the public to be well educated on how it functions because that is key to deriving the maximum from the program.

I will give government 65% because education is key to the smooth implementation and that has been very unimpressive. With time, it would be resolved but the early signs aren’t encouraging.

Ghana Post GPS: Good

FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION: 40%

All we hear from this government is alleged corruptions from this man, but in the, end no show!!!

In view of this, I will give government 40% in the fight against corruption because nothing was done apart from getting the Special Prosecutor Bill through Parliament. I am wondering when investigations will began, offenders sent to court for prosecution, and when judgment will be pronounced if a full year is required to see a bill through.

AVERAGE: 64%

For the full review, go to:http://www.isaackyeiandoh.com/2018/01/review-of-nana-akufo-addos-first-year.html

On infrastructure, he indicated that his decision not to rate them was down to the very little done in that sector and his recognition of the need to create stability in the micro-economic environment to be in the position to invest significantly in infrastructure.

On the Real Estate Sector, he had this to say: “Policies should be tailor-made for the growth of the Real Estate Sector because it is a major employment generator and therefore its success will automatically result in job creation for all manner of skills.”

According to him: “the Real Estate Industry is one of the few sectors that employ from the downtrodden to professionals at the highest level and therefore any government really committed to job creation will not overlook it. This sector has been ignored for too long to the detriment of the economy and the wellbeing for Ghanaians.”

In conclusion, he called on government to accept criticisms aimed at getting the best from them in good faith instead of treating such critics as enemies because it is only through this that mistakes can be avoided.