General News of Sunday, 24 December 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

How Nkrumah promoted government's housing policy in 1958

Ghana's first Prime Minister and later President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah Ghana's first Prime Minister and later President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah

Historical documents retrieved by GhanaWeb shed light on a pivotal moment in Ghana's history, where a housing policy was introduced by the then Prime Minister of Gold Coast, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, in 1958.

The detailed account, captured in the Daily Graphic Newspaper dated September 2, 1958, highlights Nkrumah's groundbreaking initiative titled "Nkrumah’s Buy Your Own Homes' Scheme.’

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, addressing the National Assembly, acknowledged the growing public dissatisfaction with existing housing policies. As such, he felt the need to address the housing challenge.

According to the report, he personally introduced the policy to tackle the issue head-on.

"It's going to be cheaper and easier to buy your own home. In the National Assembly, yesterday Premier Nkrumah introduced a new housing policy," the newspaper clipping read.

“Over the last few months my government has become increasingly aware of public dissatisfaction over housing policy.

“I regard the whole question of housing as of such importance and urgency that I feel it is appropriate that I should introduce the new proposal myself,” Dr Kwame Nkrumah in the report.

The core of the housing policy involved a groundbreaking offer: a "five percent down and twenty years to pay" plan for the purchase of government estate houses.

This strategic approach aimed to make homeownership more accessible and affordable for a broader segment of the population.

See the details captured in the newspaper clippings below:



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