The Ghana Real Estate Developers’ Association (GREDA), has called on the government to grant tax rebates to its members to enable them build enough affordable housing units in the country.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo back in April 2019, charged GREDA to develop a proposal to build 20,000 housing units a year to help deal with the growing housing deficits.
Data available shows that the current housing deficit in Ghana runs into about 2 million housing units.
President Akufo-Addo at the said meeting noted that his government will not hesitate to grant tax waivers for companies interested in delivering truly affordable housing to Ghanaians.
He mentioned import duties as one area that government would be willing to review in favour of developers in the event they show that they are providing affordable housing.
It’s been almost 3 years down the line and the housing units are yet to be built.
In an interview with Citi Business News on the project, the President of the Ghana Real Estate Developers’ Association (GREDA), Patrick Ebo Bonful noted that they are working with the relevant government agencies to ensure that the construction of 20,000 housing units per year becomes a reality.
“The affordable housing agenda has been on our hearts. We are currently working on the details pertaining to the 20,000 housing units’ target we set for ourselves, and we will share the same with Ghanaians soon. We are working with the government, asking for tax rebates, the same rebates given to foreign companies when they come here to build affordable housing.”
“These are a range from corporate tax, waivers on import duties and the likes. We are working with parliament and the Ministry of Finance on this and hopefully, they’ll soon come around, so we proceed with the action stage of the project,” he added.
Source: citibusinessnews.com