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The Ministry of Works and Housing and the Ministry of Human Settlements of South Africa have resolved to collaborate to drive development in the critical fields of housing, human settlements and urban developments in both countries.
This, the two ministries believe, signals commitments by Ghana and South Africa to address the complex challenges of housing and human settlements.
The commitment was made when South Africa’s Minister for Housing and Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, visited the Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, in Accra last Wednesday for a bilateral meeting.
The South African Minister is on an official visit to the country as part of efforts to strengthen ties, chart a new path and explore avenues for collaboration in the areas of housing delivery and development of other human settlements between the two countries.
The visit is a follow up to fruitful discussions previously held between the two sector ministers in Poland and South Africa respectively, which laid the foundation for the need to explore collaborations, particularly in enhancing the institutional framework for the delivery of housing in both countries.
As part of her duty tour of Ghana, Ms Kubayi is expected to call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and later engage in a business session to be hosted by the Ghana Investments Promotion Centre for housing sector players from both countries.
Welcoming his guest, Mr Asenso-Boakye indicated that the complexities involved in housing delivery required not only urgent attention, but also innovative solutions dictated by mutual commitments from governments.
“Our joint efforts in pressing issues of slum upgrading, improvement in informal settlements and the lives of those who inhabit them can have profound impact on the well-being and living conditions of a significant portion of our populations,” Mr Asenso-Boakye, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bantama Constituency, said.
Ms Kubayi said the government of South Africa was ready to commit to the new partnership that would work out to resolve the myriad of problems in housing delivery.
“To us, this partnership and commitments also include sharing of experiences, knowledge and best practices in the housing sectors of our countries and how we can practicalise the implementations of what we seek to commit,” Ms Kubayi added.
