Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari
First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari has indicated that building and maintaining quality infrastructure creates employment opportunities in the construction sector.
According to him, a quality-built environment can stimulate local economic growth through a routine maintenance culture.
This he explained will attract businesses, tourists, and investments, and ensure that property owners can always fall on such investments in times of difficulty—by creating a lot of derivatives and refinancing opportunities for other critical investments.
Speaking at the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Ghana Institute of Architects, Dr. Opoku-Afari also said a quality-built environment has numerous economic benefits including increased property values, improved productivity, enhanced economic growth, reduced maintenance costs.
He however expressed concern about building or buying a property in Ghana that has almost become a sunk cost.
“Once the money goes into the property, there are very limited opportunities for owners to tap into the appreciating values of these properties to finance other aspects of their lifestyles. While this is not purely the problem of the architects and builders, but also requires creativity from those of us in the finance space, I strongly believe that enhancing our built environment will significant open this space to leverage the huge potential of its inherent economic benefits”, he mentioned.
Governments of many developing economies are struggling with domestic revenue mobilisation.
The First Deputy Governor said a well-designed built environment with proper cadastres would allow the government to formalise property values and collect the required property taxes.
While most advanced and emerging market economies have tax-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios above 30%, developing countries, especially low-income countries, are under 15.0% with Ghana around 13%, and property taxes are mostly absent in our economies.
Bank Square is a bold statement of BoG’s enduring presence
On the BANK SQUARE, the new head office of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Opoku-Afari said it is a bold statement of Bank of Ghana’s enduring presence and authority in the financial landscape.
Clad in durable stone, he said the building symbolises permanence and resilience, much like ancient monuments that have withstood the test of time.
“This material not only conveys the Bank’s stature but also requires minimal maintenance and supporting the building’s sustainability goals. This architectural form reflects the Bank’s role as a regulatory authority and affirms its importance within the nation’s economic framework”.
“My key point here is that buildings speak, and they speak for us. So let us design them to speak what we stand for, what we believe in, and our aspirations and ambitions. And, let us allow our buildings to bring in the positive economic externalities”, he added.
In conclusion, he called on building professional to reflect on how they can begin to think through ways in which they can leverage on advancement in technology to design buildings and other structures that reflect the socio- cultural identity and economic development.
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