Tamale credit union to build houses for members

The Tamale Community Cooperative Credit Union (TCCCU) has reached an agreement with the Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA) to provide affordable housing schemes for its members.

Construction work of the 600 housing unit would commence this year on some parcels of land acquired by the TCCCU.

Mr Frank Aggrey, Project Officer of WSA said this during the 6th Annual General Meeting of TCCCU on Saturday.

He said his organization was an inter-governmental organization operating in 32 countries and was very eager to commence the project with the TCCCU using the most cost effective technology for the housing scheme.

He was of the view that with about 43 percent of the Ghanaian population living in urban settings and housing was a major concern, it was possible for the union to take advantage of the opportunity to own the houses.

Mr John Issah Alhassan, Board Chairman of the TCCCU, said the housing scheme has come as a relief to members because those who could not afford their own houses would be able to do so through a modest savings.

He said 60 houses would be constructed in the first phase of the project on 12-acres piece of land acquired by the TCCCU at Lahigu, a suburb of the Tamale metropolis.

Mr Alhassan said the TCCCU was still growing in numbers registering a total membership 1,135 at the end of February 2013, noting that 40% of the assets were in loans to members.

He said the TCCCU invests part of its finances with the Credit Union Association of Ghana (CUA) and its total investment stood at 42,406.55 and profit after tax was also 20,651.71.

He complained that a larger number of its members were dormant while loan delinquency was another challenge, stressing that the union faces high rent payments for the office space and was preparing to acquire a permanent offices.

Mr Mohammed Fuseini Northern Regional Director of the Department of Cooperatives commended the credit union for the positive strides made and urged them to continue in their efforts to improve the lot of many.