From promotions, healthcare and housing to pensions: Ruto’s bag of goodies on World Teachers' Day

Adequate housing transcends merely the physical structure of a house; it encompasses security, dignity, and easy access to essential services. Recognizing this, the United Nations designated World Habitat Day in 1985 to shed light on this pressing issue. This year’s theme aligns with the International Union of Architects’ World Architecture Day, both emphasizing that housing is a fundamental human right that must be accessible to all.

A staggering 3 billion people currently lack adequate housing, with 1.1 billion residing in informal settlements. In Ghana, the urgency of this matter is particularly acute. Land acquisition poses significant challenges for many Ghanaians, often depleting family savings and involving complex disputes and unclear documentation. Even when land is secured, soaring costs of construction materials and rising prices for building essentials make building a home increasingly unattainable for most households.

Financing options are scarce and expensive for those who rely on loans, extending the process of owning a home over years, with families adding rooms as finances permit. Consequently, the focus shifts to making this basic right affordable and accessible to ordinary Ghanaians. More than just four walls, adequate housing provides a foundation of security, dignity, and reasonable access to vital services, such as roads, water, sanitation, electricity, schools, healthcare, employment, and transport.

This realization underscores the shared responsibility of various stakeholders, including government, local authorities, banks, developers, architects, engineers, contractors, and communities. It also highlights the economic implications, as affordable homes can stimulate job creation and improve living conditions. Nevertheless, mere increases in construction output do not address the issue if these homes remain beyond the reach of most households.

Therefore, a solution must focus on bridging the gap between supply, affordability, and financing. Banks must design financial products suited to individual income patterns, developers must discover cost-cutting measures without compromising quality, and government and local authorities must tackle land, infrastructure, and planning issues.

Buyers require reliable information to make informed decisions about land purchases, mortgages, construction, and ownership. While World Habitat Day serves as a moment to evaluate the quality of housing beyond merely the number of structures built, the ultimate question remains: are we constructing homes and communities that ordinary Ghanaians can afford, live in safely, and call their own?

Addressing this challenge necessitates collaboration among government, the private sector, financial institutions, professionals, and communities. The UN’s call for “Adequate Housing for All” and the UIA’s “Housing is a Human Right. Build It.” provide a useful framework for Ghana to translate these ideals into practical solutions, ensuring homes that are accessible, affordable, and sustainable.