Housing Ministry to use data to improve quality of housing system – Asenso-Boakye

Ghana’s housing deficit stands at about 1.8 million units

GSS releases Volume 3 of 2021 Population and Housing Census report

Government committed to improving access to affordable housing – Minister

The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has said his outfit intends to champion the quality of housing units developed in the country.

He believes that beyond looking at the overall housing deficit of the country which currently stands at about 1.8 million units, the ministry will focus on relevant data from the Ghana Statistical Service to address the quality of housing.

Speaking at the launch of the third volume of the 2021 Population and Housing Census Report released by the Ghana Statistical Service, Asenso-Boakye said, “As we are all aware, the use of unconventional structures such as kiosks and metallic containers as housing units is on the rise and constitute about 21.3% of our housing stock, according to the Provisional Results, that was released last year.”

“Ensuring all persons in Ghana have access to quality housing will require a multi-sectoral effort, given its relevance to other sectors.”

He continued, “Following this release, my Ministry will be interested in contextualising the available statistics and working to explain the patterns and trends presented. For instance, the percentage of vacant housing units reported in Greater Accra mentioned during the presentation provides evidence for our growing concern about the number of exclusive high-rise apartments that are out of the price range of the average person in the country.”

The minister on his part reiterated that government is prioritising access to affordable housing for all Ghanaians and urged urge the private sector to utilise data for their market research and decision-making to better serve the housing needs of the population.