Providing Affordable Housing: Government Considers Local Materials

Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has hinted at the government’s resolve to promote and use locally manufactured building materials in its various housing projects across the country.

This was disclosed when the Minister engaged the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) in Accra on Monday, April 26 as part of his consultation with key stakeholders within the sector.

The meeting focused on deliberations towards promoting and utilizing locally sourced raw materials which government intends to use in the construction of affordable housing projects at both district and national levels.

“It is the expectation that the use of these local building materials in the housing sector will be less cost intensive as compared to the importation of foreign ones”, said Mr Asenso-Boakye.

He also said “With huge deposits of clay across various parts of the country, we should be able to take advantage and encourage the production of burnt bricks and pozzolana cement in large volumes”.

The Minister added that engaging local manufacturers will also create jobs for citizens and promote private sector investment, thereby reducing the rate of unemployment in the country.

The Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) is part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and has a mandate to provide research to the building and road sectors of the Ghanaian economy.