ACCRA, Ghana, 7th October: President John Dramani Mahama has said Ghana must significantly increase the number of new homeowners every year if the country is to close its estimated 1.8 million-unit housing deficit.
He said the scale of the housing challenge requires a dramatic acceleration in the delivery of affordable homes across the country.
President Mahama made the remarks on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at the opening of the National Conference on Housing Finance in Accra.
According to him, existing interventions have made some progress, but the pace must increase considerably.
The President disclosed that housing interventions supported through the National Home Ownership Fund, in partnership with institutions including GCB Bank, Stanbic Bank and Republic Bank, had helped more than 1,000 people to own homes.
He also noted that the City Mortgage rate under the National Mortgage Scheme currently stands at 8.4 per cent.
Describing the development as a good start, President Mahama said the country must move beyond the current scale of delivery.
“We must count new homeowners in the hundreds of thousands each year if we are to make up that 1.8 million housing deficit we face,” he said.
The President said government would therefore work to expand access to long-term, local-currency housing finance with manageable repayments.
He said the housing challenge was not simply about constructing more buildings but ensuring that the homes delivered were affordable to the people who need them.
President Mahama said more than 30 per cent of Ghana’s existing housing stock is also inadequate, meaning the country must improve existing settlements while constructing additional homes.
He called for attention to overcrowding, poor sanitation, insecure tenure and inadequate access to utilities.
The President said government is committed to reviving stalled housing projects and making effective use of government and institutional land banks.
He disclosed that the government is targeting the completion of 1,500 housing units at Saglemi by next year and is piloting a district housing programme in eight districts.
He said projects including Oxygen City in Ho and Green City in Dedesua would also contribute to increasing Ghana’s housing stock.
President Mahama stressed that the success of the housing agenda would ultimately depend on whether the homes delivered are within the financial reach of ordinary Ghanaian households.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭