‘Open bedrooms’ at Circle: Who checks in, who checks out?
The condos, penthouses and studio bedroom apartments have been relentless in announcing their presence in our housing solution mix.
As these beautiful bedroom apartments scream on every available billboard on our streets for attention, an entirely different sort quite unconventional screams even more.
This time not on billboards but advertising platform that fits their class.
You probably have seen them at lorry stations and the major markets in the city, but the ones that grab attention most are those currently spreading under the Kwame Nkrumah interchange at Circle – the “open bedroom” makeshift structures constructed with mosquito nets and cardboard papers.
Exclusion
One does not need billboard advertisements to know that such open bedrooms are also there, offering alternative sleeping solutions to those who cannot afford the traditional compound houses majority of us grew up in and the high-end modern apartments we now see spreading throughout the capital.
It is easy for one to conclude that these makeshift open bedrooms, which expose one to the elements of the weather, are the preserve of the riffraff, drug addicts, mentally deranged persons and criminals.
However, you will be amazed to know that people of sound mind also share spaces in these makeshift sleeping areas.
This accommodation-at-all-costs situation, exemplified by this open bedroom phenomenon, not only implies the huge housing deficit challenge the country is facing, but also a reminder of the prevailing inequality and exclusion many of our countrymen and women suffer.
Paradox
We cannot continue to live our lives in paradox as Ghanaians forever. Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated it clearly when he “put it to us” some time ago that, “Ye ti sika so, nanso akom di yen.”
To wit, “we sit on money, yet we are starving.”
What can justify the claim of housing deficit in the country looking at the booming real estate projects currently going on in the major cities of the country?
We have come out with laudable initiatives such as the Ghana Housing Scheme (GHS) and the Real Estate Agency Act (Act 1047) to address some of these housing challenges, yet implementation and financing remain slow.
Meanwhile, the private sector continues to build and supply houses where the profits are higher, not necessarily where homes are mostly needed.
Though thousands of these newly constructed houses remained unoccupied, demands for affordable houses continue to surge.
For all we know, getting a place to lay one’s head is one of the basic needs of life.
Denial of it takes away one-third of one’s life, provided one is good on the other two - consumption and clothing.
Eye-opener
Motorists and pedestrians who use the Circle interchange more often may find these open bedrooms situated right at the median of the interchange to be a nuisance.
An eyesore that should be dealt with swiftly by the city authorities.
As far as such a reaction is in order, the situation should also be an eye-opener to policy-makers on the inequality and exclusion many of our people suffer when it comes to accessibility and affordability of some of the most basic needs of life, such as accommodation.
High construction cost, limited mortgage financing, land acquisition challenges and speculative real estate investments are some of the factors well-known to have conspired to deny the majority of our people access to decent accommodation in the country.
It is therefore heartwarming to know that the Housing Minister, Mr Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, is well aware of the need to adopt a multidimensional approach in addressing this multi-factor challenge of housing delivery in the country.
Bringing researchers, engineers, policy-makers, financiers and investors together to generate innovative ideas on local building solutions, policy reforms, innovative financing, local building solution and data transparency can help restore integrity and balance in the housing ecosystem in Ghana.
The writer is with the Institute of Current Affairs and Diplomacy (ICAD).
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