CHANGING THE HOUSING LANDSCAPE (AUGUST 5, 2010)

SHELTER is a basic necessity of life, just as food and clothing are required for the upkeep of any human being. That is why the government has decided to commit huge resources into the provision of decent and affordable housing for the people.
Ghana is said to have a housing deficit of one million housing units, which makes it a very Herculean challenge facing the government and the people. Therefore, the decision to introduce the Ghana Housing Project with support from STX Korea has come as a big relief to majority of the people.
In spite of the partisan posture that characterised the debate, we recognise that both sides of the House agreed in principle that the project was necessary to help reduce the current housing deficit in the country.
The deal appears very attractive, especially when it proposes about 30,000 housing units for the security agencies. Any person who has visited the barracks of the security agencies will weep over the deplorable conditions in which our security personnel live.
What saddens the DAILY GRAPHIC, however, is the blame game that debates on very crucial national development issues assume, for which reason we tend to miss the point and focus on political expediency instead of the public good.
We think that the time has come for the government to begin the process towards crafting a national vision that captures inputs from all stakeholders, including political parties.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is conscious of the fact that the country runs a democratic system in which political parties play a very dominant role and, therefore, a certain amount of partisanship is expected. But, in the national interest, this sectarian interest can be suppressed for the sake of achieving unity, peace and stability.
For this reason, the DAILY GRAPHIC considers the action of the walkout by the Minority during the debate on the STX deal, described as the single biggest investment in the country’s history, as very unfortunate, to say the least.
Our honourable Members of Parliament (MPs) have taught us that in a multi-party democracy, the Minority will have their say, while the Majority will have their way.
They should have stayed in the House to express their opinion on the deal and leave the judgement to the good people of Ghana who have the right to determine the fate of any government through the ballot box.
The DAILY GRAPHIC bears the Minority no grudge for manifesting their democratic expression through a boycott, but, as they kept reminding the good people of Ghana that they were not against the deal in principle and that their concerns were only to ensure that Ghanaians had value for money, they should have stayed in the House on Monday night just to argue their case and ensure that Ghanaians truly had value for their money.
That opportunity is now lost but we believe it can serve as a useful lesson for the future. Since there is more work to be done before the STX deal takes off, we appeal to the government to take on board the genuine concerns expressed by all stakeholders on the deal so that the project will mark a turning point in housing delivery in the country.