Business News of Thursday, 21 January 2021

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Assent Real Estate Authority Bill in Q1 - Construction Chamber to Akufo-Addo

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana

The Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GCCI) has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to assent to the Real Estate Authority Bill.

The Chamber believes that the bill, when it comes, into force, will significantly contribute to making the sector clean.

In September 2020, Parliament of Ghana passed the Bill pending the assent of the President.

Speaking to Citi News, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, Emmanuel Cherry, said the law will rope in a level of professionalism to the sector.

“We are hoping that since the swearing-in has taken effect, we are expecting that within the first quarter, the President must be able to come out and assent to the Bill. It will mean a lot to us because it’s going to sanitise the real estate sector of construction as well as curb corruption or fraud.

Because, a lot of people are taking advantage of that, and they have been duping people so if this comes in it’s going to serve as checks and balances. So, there are a lot of benefits that the country is going to derive from this. It’s also going to rake in revenue for the government of the day as well.”

There have been earlier calls by some stakeholders in the real estate sector for the bill to be made law.

The intended law will also establish the Real Estate Agency Council to license real estate brokers, issue real estate transfer certificates, and monitor the performance of the brokers.

A memorandum of the bill underscored the need to regulate real estate agency services to rid the industry of fraud, laundering of illegal income, and tax evasion to minimize the effect of these vices on the national economy and the image of the country internationally.