Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday called on all stakeholders to help formulate a more sustainable urban and housing policy that stresses the provision of decent and affordable housing for the citizens.
He said such a nationwide workable housing policy should consider the rules of engagement as they pertain to reasonable land use, building code and planning ordinances at the local level and, in particular, environmental regulations at the national level.
In an address read on his behalf by the Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, Mr Albert Abongo, at the opening of a two-day housing conference in Accra, Vice President Mahama said the absence of such rules had led to indiscriminate destruction of vegetation cover, thereby diminishing potential carbon sinks that could assist with efforts at mitigating the effects of climate change.
The conference under the theme: �Planning our Urban Future�, is being organized by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing in collaboration with the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA).
Vice President Mahama said Ghana was still grappling with the major issue of access to decent housing at affordable cost, coupled with insufficient housing stock to meet the ever increasing demand for housing in the urban centres, hence the need for such a conference to explore ways at addressing the issue holistically.
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