Housing policy in Ghana: towards a supply-oriented future

The purpose of this paper is to review past and present housing policies in Ghana, particularly the 1993 National Shelter Strategy (Ghana, 1993, Policy Planning and Evaluation Unit, Ministry of Works and Housing, Accra), in the context of housing supply for the low income majority. The current international policies embodied in the Global Strategy for Shelter (GSS) (UNCHS, 1990) and the Global Plan of Action of Habitat II (GPA) (UNCHS, 1996) have provided a framework within which current housing policies are to be formulated with the intention of cranking up housing supply. We suggest some characteristics of Ghanaian housing and urban society which demand different approaches. In that context, we recommend means by which current policies can be made more supply-efficient by building on strongly held beliefs and attitudes rather than through the imposition of alien market-oriented value systems.