Minister of Works designate outlines plans to develop sectors

The Minister designate for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Adjei, has disclosed his plans to develop the housing sector if given the nod as the substantive head of the ministry. 

Appearing before the Appointments Committee for vetting yesterday, he pledged to explore public-private partnerships (PPPs) and collaborations with actors such as the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) and international organisations to attract investment and expertise to support the sector and surmount the many challenges it faced.

He also said the government would continue to support the District Housing Programme which made available affordable accommodation, particularly for people living in rural areas.

He described the initiative as a “laudable” one that did not only provide affordable accommodation for persons living in rural communities but also alleviated the fears of professionals, particularly civil servants posted to such areas with regard to where they would live.

“Mostly, when people are transferred to the rural areas, they hesitate basically because where they will stay is a problem.

So I believe that if we continue with the district housing policy, it’s something that would help a lot and Ghanaians in the various districts are going to benefit from that,” he said. 

“Also, most people want to retire from their villages but the issue is where are they going to stay?

If we have this policy, it is something that is going to help,” Mr Adjei added.

He made the statements in response to a question from a former Minister of Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah. 

Rent

When asked about the high cost of rent across the country due to landlords charging rent advance beyond the lawful period and the measures to tackle the problem, Mr Adjei said he would implement the Low-Interest Rent Advance Scheme to provide tenants with affordable loans to cover rent advances, reducing the financial burden of upfront rental payments per the NDC’s 2024 manifesto.

He further stated that he would merge the government’s policy with the existing National Rental Assistance Scheme introduced by the previous administration for the same purpose to help improve access to housing.

“I’m aware of the Low Interest Rent Advance Scheme that the NDC is coming up with and I’m aware of the National Rental Assistance Scheme the NPP brought. It has been piloted in six regions so far and so if I get to office, I’ll review it and merge the two,” he said, adding that he would review the Rent Act and send it back to Parliament to be considered.

Similarly, Mr Adjei said the government would pay critical attention to the housing needs of members of the various security agencies by putting up new housing units and refurbishing the existing ones as promised by the party. 

Water, coastal defence

Mr Adjei said he would hold a stakeholder engagement to consider the privatisation of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) as one of the measures to numerous problems adversely affecting water supply nationwide.

This was his response when the Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, disclosed that the GWCL had a debt of over GH¢6 billion making it a challenge for the utility company to raise funding or enter partnerships to undertake essential projects such as replacing obsolete water pumps, maintaining pipelines and extension works.

The nominee further stated that if given the nod to head the ministry, he would engage with the Minister of Finance to “see how best we can raise funds to complete” water projects initiated by the previous administration in areas, including Wenchi, Techiman, Sunyani, Damongo, Tamale and Yendi.  

With regard to coastal protection, Mr Adjei said he would explore alternative sources of funding to initiate sea defence projects to protect the approximately 347 km of the nation’s coastline that did not have any protection.