Toronto Hosts Ghana Housing Exhibition 2003

A housing road show (exhibition) was held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Toronto the commercial capital of Canada for the Ghanaian community on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th of July 2003. It was organized by the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) and Positive Options Canada (local organizers of the exhibition).

The exhibition was opened on the Saturday at 11:30am by the Ghana High Commissioner to Canada, His Excellency Mr. Samuel Odoi Sykes. In his address, Mr. Odoi Sykes mentioned that “housing is a social service which baffles all governments around the world.” And that in Ghana, “housing Ghanaians has frustrated successive government since independence.” “The Problem,”, he said, “lies with money. Programs have been drawn up and strategies made to house Ghanaians,” However, His Excellency lamented, “factors like corruption, mismanagement and fraud have combine to sabotage many genuine efforts .” He said that houses which were built by government housing corporations went to the wrong people. And that affordable houses build for ordinary Ghanaians were unaffordable. Mr. Odoi Sykes pointed out that the perennial problem of acute housing in Ghana still persists. And that the present housing shortage in Ghana is estimated to be between 300,000 to 350,000 units. What is required to keep this situation from worsening is to be able to produce 130,000 housing units every year. However, the collective efforts of all the building societies in Ghana can produce only 25,000 housing units each year. Thus, the situation couldn’t be better.

*Private Sector is A key Factor The deficit in housing is not being redeemed because the private sector has not been encouraged and assisted to contribute its quota in that field. Mr. Odoi Sykes emphasized that “the private sector is a key in the housing delivery and the government’s role is that of a facilitator.” The High Commissioner made reference to this government’s declaration of the Golden Age of Business and reteriate its invitation to the private sector, foreign investors, professional to join the NPP government’s crusade to develop Ghana. He promised his government’s assistance to the private sector in the real estate development industry to provide decent houses for Ghanaians. He disclosed that a uniform land tenure throughout Ghana is being worked out to eliminate land disputes and litigations. This would help real estates developers in Ghana to their work without being frustrated or hindered. Mr. Odoi-Sykes praised GREDA for its honest and hardwork. He in closing, encouraged all Ghanaians in diaspora to do business with GREDA in their efforts to acquire decent homes back home in Ghana.

*We Are Here to Facilitate Your Decision GREDA President In his welcome address, the Hon. D.B.K. Adu, President of GREDA, who is also the MP for Okere Constituency said the housing developers were in Toronto to facilitate decisions by Ghanaian Canadians to develop an investment back home by way of the Housing Exhibition. He advised, “In choosing to buy a house of your own, you may do it outright from your own resources or from your family income or by groups of two, three, four, etc., pulling their resources together. Then you may invest in the first house, rent it and use the returns on it to purchase the others, so that by a certain time all of you in the group would own houses in Ghana.” He said the GREDA participants would pursue actively and vigorously avenues for joint venture relationships as well as new and appropriate technologies, building materials and construction finances while they were in Canada. In an opening remarks by Mr. Emmanuel Antwi of Positive Options Canada (the local organizers of the exhibition) recounted the problems many Ghanaians living abroad encounter in their efforts to acquire their own houses back home in Ghana. Mr. Antwi said there are countless stories of peoples’ efforts to buy buildings in Ghana being in vain due to land disputes and disappointments from family members in Ghana.” He stressed that if the opportunity offered through the GREDA Housing Roadshow (Exhibition) had existed before Ghanaians abroad would not have gone to endured the pains and struggles they have had to endured in their efforts to acquire house back home. He therefore encouraged Ghanaians living in Canada to make good use of the opportunity offered by the exhibition to acquire their own homes in Ghana. He also reminded GREDA to offer the good services that Ghanaians require of them. Housing Developers from Ghana who participated in the Toronto exhibition included Prudential Real Estates (Gh) Ltd., Osamanpa Estate Developer; Flexcon Master Builders (MB) Ltd.; Buena Vista Homes Ltd; Coastal Estates; Tracoaf Estates Ltd; and Devtraco Ltd. The rest were ACP Estates; Boama Building Contruction Company Ltd; the Tema Development Corporation; Lakeside Estate; EMEFS Construction Ltd; St. Patrick Estates Ltd; Hydraform Estates Int. (Gh.) Ltd; and Jupiter Real Estates Ltd. It was through the hard work and efficiency of Tweneboah, Vice President of GREDA in charge of marketing and promotions that the fifteen developers made it to Toronto for the exhibition. They brought to Ghanaian Canadians flexible and wide options of the housing delivery in Ghana. These ranged from steele (iron) buildings to concrete blocks; gated and managed communities to flexible duplex; and even the servicing of plots of land to seeking investors to establish health and fitness centre in Adabraka, Accra. Prices quoted for houses from as low as US $8,000 for two bedroom steele (iron) house to as high as $225,000 for 5-bedroom two-storey detached house with double car port. Financial packages available included cash, mortgage, bridged financing and personalized bridged financing. In all cases a buyer would have to make some down payment of not les than 40 percent of the total cost. Many Ghanaians Canadians who attended the exhibition had one to one chat with the developers concerning their individual housing needs in Ghana. The First day of the exhibition was flavoured with the lovely performance of Amy Amartefio of Toronto as the Master of Ceremony (MC). At the end of the second day the exhibition was closed by the former Ghana Consul General in Toronto, Dr. Martin La Kumi. In a brief but powerful address, Dr. La Kumi stressed the need to support GREDA. For, as he said, “a boom in the housing market creates employment in the system. The government is able to collect taxes and is able to undertake infracstrual development in the country.” He referred to the presence of GREDA in Toronto as “the coming of good hope” which Ghanaian Canadians should seize as a golden opportunity to own their own houses back home in Ghana. Background music at the exhibition was provided by D.J. Emmanuel Sounds of Toronto.

Picture: A group of participants and invited guest with Mr. Samuel Odoi-Sykes Ghana High Commissioner to Canada.