REFURBISHMENT of a single government housing unit in the Tamale metropolis is estimated at GH¢20,000 owing to the state of deterioration of the buildings.
Most of the housing units were built about 50 years ago and have since then not seen any renovation.
There are currently about 607 government housing units located in suburbs such as Sakasaka, Choggu, Bagabaga, Kalpohini, Vitting, Attaasibi, Nyohini and airport areas.
About 300 of such houses have been earmarked for sale following the government’s decision to sell such buildings nationwide.
It is worthy to note that the level of deterioration of the housing units is so massive that most occupants cannot afford to renovate the structures by themselves.
Some of them have argued that even if they take loans to renovate them, their monies might not be refunded to them.
The situation, therefore, raises pertinent questions as to who should take charge and renovate the buildings particularly at a time when the metropolis is growing with demands for more workers to be posted to the area.
Times without number workers have trooped to the offices of the Northern Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to request for accommodation, which they never had.
Some workers have, therefore, entreated the government to expedite action on the provision of more housing units to cater for the increasing demands.
Others have alleged that although they have applied for the government bungalows for years now they have “deliberately” been denied the facility.
The Chief Personnel Officer of the EC, Mr Alhassan Suraj-Deen, who is also a member of the allocation committee of the government houses to workers, however, admitted that the number of workers in the metropolis had outgrown the number of accommodation facilities available in the area.
He further explained that “we have on several occasions served notices to squatters and illegal occupants to quit but they have failed to comply with the quit order”.
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