According to him, this would support efforts to bridge the housing deficit that had bedeviled the country over the past few years. 

The Minister made the call at the launch of the Harmonia Residence, a private residential project, by VAAL Real Estate, a private developer, on Friday, in Accra.

MrAsenso-Boakye said the government’s affordable housing programme was supported by a new framework, developed by the Ministry that commits it to reduce up to 40 per cent of the construction cost through the provision of land, infrastructural services, tax incentives and exemptions, to promote affordability of houses built for sale.

With majority of Ghanaians requiring support to access housing, he said this was the only way through which people could be cushioned against the high cost of acquiring decent accommodation and positively affecting the lives of the larger population.

MrAsenso-Boakyeassured of the government’s preparedness to create the enabling environment for the real estate sector to thrive, and deal with housing challenges that have characterised urbanisation.

The ministry, he noted, has since the passage of the Real Estate Agency Act, 2020, (Act 1047), by Parliament, taken steps to establish an entity that would regulate real estate agency practice, conduct of real estate practitioners, commercial transactions, including the sale, purchase, rental and leasing of properties. 

“I have had the opportunity to inaugurate the Board of Directors with an acting Chief Executive to implement and operationalise the provisions in the Act, which is expected to go a long way to plug the avenues in which real estate transactions are used to launder money including the prohibition of the use of cash for real estate transactions,” MrAsenso-Boakye stated.

Currently, he said, there was an increasing demand for the development of high-rise and compact properties, especially in the cities, in a bid to maximise the limited land space, as well as the emergence of several lateral houses, which have been assessed to be unsustainable. 

MrAsenso-Boakyesaid that “the Ministry is committed to getting legislation on condominium properties in place to provide for the establishment, ownership and management of condominiums and unit titles among other things.”

The founder of the Vaal group, MajeedSaad, said “VAAL comes with vast expertise in real estate development from Egypt, Turkey, Kenya, and the Middle East and hopes to establish strong footprints in the Ghanaian real estate market.” 

He said he would work with government in ensuring that the housing needs of Ghanaians were addressed.