President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, to allocate GH¢1 billion in the 2027 Budget as the government’s contribution to a proposed GH¢3 billion revolving National Housing Fund.
President Mahama made the announcement on Wednesday, October 7, at the opening of the National Conference on Housing Finance in Accra. He said the government’s contribution would be placed in the National Housing Fund and made available on a revolving basis to support housing delivery and expand access to affordable accommodation.
The President said the GH¢1 billion would not be the Fund’s only source of capital, with pension funds, insurers, development finance institutions and diaspora investors expected to participate in financing structures that support viable housing projects.
He said the transition from the National Home Ownership Fund to the National Housing Fund was intended to broaden its mandate beyond home ownership financing to include wider housing delivery and affordable rental options.
President Mahama also announced the proposed Easy Rent Programme, under which the National Housing Fund would pay the rent advance on behalf of eligible workers, who would repay the amount through monthly instalments.
The initiative is intended to reduce the financial burden created by Ghana’s rent advance system, which often requires tenants to raise large sums before securing accommodation.
The President further proposed a rent-to-own model for unfinished houses, under which government could identify partially completed homes, assess the cost of completion and provide financing support to enable owners to finish the properties and eventually occupy them.
He said the broader housing strategy would combine mortgages, rent-to-own arrangements, rental housing, incremental housing finance and social housing to respond to the different financial circumstances of Ghanaian households.