NPP To Institute National Housing Policy

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) will institute a national housing policy to provide decent affordable houses for workers to ease the acute accommodation problem facing them. The Member of Parliament for Bantama, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who made this known at the NPP�s media encounter in Accra, to throw more light on its 2012 manifesto, said 100,000 of the houses would be constructed by the end of the party�s first term in office. She said rents collected from the occupants of the houses would be put into a revolving fund to build more houses for workers. According to her, the nation needed as many as 1.5 million houses for workers. Madam Dapaah stated that Ghanaian estate developers were eager to put up more houses for rental but they lacked capital and the necessary logistics to undertake such projects and promised that an NPP government would help them to put their plans into action. She said when voted into power on December 7, 2012, the NPP would set up housing agencies in partnership with the private sector to put up more houses for teachers, nurses and other workers. Madam Dapaah added that the 2,500 affordable houses started by the NPP would also be reactivated and completed to ease the accommodation problem in the country. Madam Gloria Akuffo, a former Deputy Minster of Justice, who spoke on governance, said an NPP government would protect media practitioners by supporting the press freedom it instituted when it was in power. She said her government would seriously tackle corruption which had now become a canker in the country by practically supporting anti-corruption institutions. Madam Akuffo expressed concern about the public anger on the payment of dubious judgement debts, stressing that an NPP government would take realistic measures to prevent the occurrence of such unnecessary debts. She stressed that the judiciary would be given practical support to enhance the speedy adjudication of cases. The MP for Manhyia, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who spoke on health, alleged that many Ghanians were dying because of the poor manner in which the NDC government was handling health care and the lack of motivation for health staff. He said realistic measures would be taken to end the increasing strike action by doctors in recent times. Dr Opoku Prempeh stressed that motivation for all categories of health workers would be increased to encourage them to give of their best. He said an NPP government would put up more health institutions to train the needed health personnel to cater for the increasing population. According to him, modern waste management systems will be set up to effectively manage waste as a measure of improving sanitation in the country. In a welcome address, the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, urged media practitioners to educate the masses on the NPP manifesto for them to make informed choices. He said an NPP government would respect the rights of media practitioners and court them to help the party to advance its course.