Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim says he wants to introduce a new National Housing Levy, but he is scared the people of Ghana will revolt.
He should be. And not because fellow countrymen and women hate paying for development, but because we know how to count.
Before anyone proposes another payroll deduction to close our 1.8 million-unit housing deficit, run the maths on the laws and money we already have:
▪️Eighteen years ago, Parliament passed the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766). Sections 103(2) and 114(2) explicitly allow every worker to use their mandatory Tier 2 and voluntary Tier 3 pension funds to secure a mortgage for a primary home.
▪️By the end of 2025, private Tier 2 and Tier 3 pension funds had accumulated a staggering GH₵79.8 billion. Yet according to Table 28 of the NPRA’s audited Annual Report, out of more than 3 million contributors, how many workers got approval to use their pension for a primary home mortgage in a full year? Just 20.
▪️Why did only 20 people succeed? Because Section 103 only gives the bank a paper guarantee, not cheap cash liquidity, leaving banks charging 24% to 28% interest on a standard 3-bedroom Accra house that now costs GH₵890,000. At 24% interest, the monthly payment is GH₵18,000. A teacher or nurse earning GH₵6,000 is disqualified at the bank’s front door.
▪️Meanwhile, three borders east in Benin, a brand-new 3-bedroom social villa at Ouèdo costs US$37,500 (30–40% cheaper than Ghana), and any public or private worker can move in with zero deposit and pay roughly GH₵2,500 (97,000 FCFA) a month over 25 years under a rent-to-own scheme.
▪️Benin didn't achieve that by slapping a new tax on workers to subsidise cement cartels and inflated contractor bills. Benin's state absorbed the 30% infrastructure surcharge (roads, storm drains, water mains, and power grids) before pricing the houses, and set up a bank-led delivery vehicle (SImAU) to buy materials in bulk across 10,800 homes at once.
We don't need a new National Housing Levy. We need to:
1. Channel just 5% (GH₵4 billion) of our existing GH₵79.8B Tier 2/3 pension pool into a privately governed housing SPV (controlled by Trustees, TUC/CLOGSAG, and banks—zero politicians) to fund single-digit rent-to-own mortgages.
2. Synchronise 15% of existing Roads, Energy (ECG), Drainage (Hydro), and Ghana Water capital budgets to service housing land banks upfront instead of retrofitting unplanned slums at triple the cost.
3. Break the asymmetric pricing cartel in cement and steel through bulk factory-gate off-take and CSIR pozzolana/burnt clay brick mandates.
4. Partner with Stools and Families on a Land-for-Equity basis under Act 1036.
You cannot tax a nation into affordability while leaving a cartelised, high-cost supply chain untouched. Fix the plumbing before turning on the tap.
What stops us from using the GH₵79.8 billion we already have under Act 766 before asking workers for another pesewa?
By Sitsofe John
#Ghana #HousingDeficit #PublicPolicy #Act766 #Pensions #EconomicGovernance
Wo da so yε Onyame, Wonnsakyera da
(You are still God, You never change)
Tsetse mbrε mu, Wo yε Onyame
(From ages past, You have been God)
Εndε so, Wo yε Onyame
(Even today, You are God)
#HallelujahChallenge#HallelujahFestival#Ghana
What does the future of Ghana look like? Is there hope for Ghana?
To help answer these questions, we’ve brought together 4 individuals across generations and across spheres of interest.
Presenting to you, RoundTable 2026: The Future of Ghana.🇬🇭
@bubbles_debs This website gives you a topic to research for a few minutes and you can record yourself talking about it for a minute. There’s also a vocabulary challenge with words you can incorporate to your speech!
https://t.co/18qHZI86D3
What is he saying?
1. She jumped bail
2. Witnesses recently have opted for zoom hearings to show commitment to being heard
Clearly, if the NDC comes to power, Sedina will mysteriously return to Ghana after her 4 years absence, appeal her sentence and then be cleared
$200 million sunk into a project that never delivered a single habitable home. Charges against the former minister for causing financial loss to the state, dropped.
GH¢90 million in financial loss found in the MASLOC case. Someone who ran from justice, was tried in absentia and sentenced, has come home, and now walks out acquitted.
Two cases. Significant public money gone. The state running Operation Recover All Loot has recovered nothing from either.
The message to those currently facing prosecution for causing financial loss is clear. Hold the line. Wait for the calendar. Wait for the next turnover.
The message to current and future looters is louder. Take as much as you can. Even if your party loses power, even if you are charged and sentenced, you only have to outlast one election cycle.
No deterrence. No prevention. Just a queue of cases waiting for the political weather to change.
Ghana akyi gu hɔ