District Chief Executive of NIPDA, Jonathan Teye Doku
The Ningo-Prampram District Assembly (NIPDA) has given the assurance that it would continue to support real estate developers in the area to develop more houses as one of the measures to prevent the creation of slums in the area.
Mr Jonathan Teye Doku, District Chief Executive of NIPDA said the Assembly’s support would be in the form of the creation of an enabling environment for the multiplication of housing and cottage industries in the district.
Mr Doku was speaking at the inauguration of the first phase of ‘City of Favor Estate’ developed by Sawer-Nanor and Sons Company, a private construction company located at Dawhenya in the Ningo-Prampram District.
He said more people were moving into the Ningo-Prampram District for abode as Accra and Tema were chocked, adding that it was therefore important that they learnt some lessons from happenings in Accra in relation to avoiding the development of slum settlements in the area.
“We want to avoid slums in the district, if the assembly is not proactive slums will develop in the area that is why we have resolved to collaborate with real estate developers such as Sawer-Nanor and Sons Company Limited”.
He added that it was in line with this that apart from supporting private real estate developers, NIDPA in partnership with some private partners, the UN-Habitat, and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was implementing the New Accra City housing project known as ‘The Planned City Extension Project’ with the aim of helping Ghanaians to acquire a home in the area.
The DCE gave the assurance that through the collaboration of the assembly and the security services, they managed to bring the menace of land guards under control and property developers.
He encouraged and welcomed all players in the housing industry to acquire property in the district, while urging those with lands in the area not to hesitate in developing them.
Mr Doku however appealed to developers to apply for building permits explain that, “when you come to us for the permit, it is just not the money that we are taking from you, once you submit your application which comes with the site plan, it helps the Assembly in determining where the layouts are, the flood-prone areas, among others, we check all these as we have the masterplan of the area”.
He reminded real estate developers that they might have nice designs and demarcations but without approval from the Assembly’s Spatial Planning Committee, it would amount to nothing.
“Once you bring and we approve it, anytime there is an issue, we have the master plan and can superimpose what you brought to us and determine where this or that must be and it will bring peace,” he said.
Mr Simon Sawer Tetteh, Managing Director of Sawer-Nanor and Sons Company Limited, on his part appealed to government to consider giving some support and tax holidays to real estate and affordable housing developers to cushion the private companies and prospective buyers from the increasing hike in the price of building materials such as cement and iron rods.
Mr Sawer Tetteh added that such materials were the core materials for construction, therefore, hikes in their prices would have a resultant effect of an increase in production cost which at the end of the day would be transferred to the client who was in dire need of housing.
Touching on the ‘City of Favor Estate’, he explained that the community would have over 100 housing units mainly made up of two and three bedrooms’ standard and executive bedrooms with serene aesthetic environment, inner roads, and 24-hour security.
He added that the estate, also boost of commercial units which would provide the occupants in the City of Favor and its environs with a pharmacy, restaurant, gymnasium, and a recreational centre.