For many Ghanaians living abroad, the dream of owning a home back in Ghana has come at a painful cost.
Money sent to relatives for construction disappears, foundations are never laid.
Photographs of strangers’ completed houses are passed off as progress reports.
By the time the truth emerges, the savings are gone and there is nothing to show for them.
It is a pattern President John Dramani Mahama says is well known and long overdue for a solution, and one he believes the Green City Housing Project in Kumasi can directly address.
In his address at the sod-cutting ceremony for the project at Dedesua in the Ashanti Region, President Mahama made a direct appeal to Ghanaians in the diaspora to take advantage of the development, describing it as a secure and transparent route to home ownership that removes the risks that have historically made investing in property from abroad such a damaging experience.
“The story we hear every time is of them sending money to relatives only to come and find out that their house, not even a foundation has been laid and pictures have been taken of other people’s houses and shown to them as being their properties,” he stated.
Under the Green City arrangement, properties would be available to all Ghanaians both at home and abroad. Buyers would receive completed units and collect their keys directly from the State Housing Company, with no land disputes or threat of demolition.
President Mahama added that Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who made the 200 acres of land available for the project, had personally issued a strong warning against any interference with the land, reinforcing the legal protections already in place with the weight of traditional authority.
The project, which will deliver more than 1,000 housing units in an integrated community at Dedesua, is designed to set a new standard for urban development in Ghana, combining modern design with environmental sustainability.
He said it would also create jobs and stimulate local enterprise across the Bosomtwe District, making it an economic asset for the wider community beyond its role as a housing development.
The appeal to the diaspora forms part of a broader government housing push that includes a three billion cedi revolving fund involving government, organised labour, SSNIT, and the Republic Bank of Ghana, under which workers can acquire homes and repay over 15 to 20 years with mortgages denominated in cedis rather than dollars.
President Mahama said the vision behind all of these efforts was the same: to build not just houses, but better lives, community by community, across Ghana.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
