Prestige Group and its subsidiary Best Link Services will build affordable homes for civil servants in Ho, joining a nationwide effort to close Ghana’s housing gap.
The Volta Region project puts a private developer’s plan alongside President John Mahama’s national affordable housing programme, which he launched in May with a 3 billion cedi revolving fund built through government agencies, labour unions and commercial banks. Ghana’s housing shortage stood at roughly 2 million units in 2022, according to the Ghana Statistical Service, while the Works and Housing Ministry has cited a gap of 1.8 million units affecting about 5.4 million people.
Saviour Lotsu, Prestige Group’s Director in Charge of Projects, said the Ho initiative grew out of a workshop the company held for public sector workers, where participants raised the cost of construction, expensive mortgages and limited access to housing loans as the main barriers to ownership. He said many civil servants retire without owning a home despite decades of pension contributions, and that the project will test financing models and construction methods meant to bring home prices closer to public sector income levels.
The financing structure calls for Republic Bank to supply 60 percent of counterpart funding and the Public Servants’ Housing Loan Scheme Board to cover the remaining 40 percent. The housing board is expected to lend at about 2.5 percent on a reducing balance basis, and Republic Bank at roughly 3.5 percent, rates that sit well below the 20 to 27 percent typically charged on cedi denominated mortgages in Ghana. Lotsu said the developers also plan to draw on land held by labour unions to expand the pipeline of housing sites.
Frank Lewis, Chairman of Prestige Group, said Ho was chosen as the starting point because of its potential for planned development and modern construction methods, and that the project could generate local jobs by relying on domestic materials and services.
The developers pressed government to bring down the cost of cement, steel, paint and other building materials, which they called a central obstacle to affordable housing, and pushed for cheaper, more reliable electricity to support local manufacturing. They also called on the Trades Union Congress and other labour groups to help connect workers with housing and financing information. Further talks with labour leaders are planned to shape the programme before it moves forward.
