CLUES TO LIVING IN GHANA

CLUES TO LIVING IN GHANA


WHEN IN GHANA
Don’t be confused or surprise if you hear someone say he is going to California in ‘troski’. Trust me, you are not lost or hallucinating and yep, he actually said he is going to California…in a car….right here in Ghana.  You will be amazed to know the number of ‘countries’ within the confines of the Ghanaian border.  We even have Sodom and Gomorrah and I bet very soon we might have the salty statue of Lots wife somewhere in Accra, Ghana!

ASK, ASK, ASK FOR REDUCTION
Don’t buy an item at the first price the Mokola woman quotes. Ask for a reduction. The possibility that you might ask for a reduction is factored into the price she quoted. She is actually waiting for you ask for it, so, why play ‘gentle’ and not ask for it. Unless you are buying a ball of kenkey, which price is relatively fixed and standard or in a shop at the Accra or Osu mall where prices quoted will not be changed, always ask for price reduction. Chances are that even if you offer half the price quoted, it would be accepted and a decent profit would still be made. But you will never know until you ask. Like the sellers say ‘it is market, you should feel free to quote your price against their’, after all, this is Ghana and anything is possible.

DON’T ASK THE STRANGER, USE YOUR PHONE
To me, the biggest disservice a smart phone owner in Ghana can do to himself in this 4G era is to ask for direction from the next man on the street when you can actually use your phone. I learnt this a few years ago in the hard way, I must admit. I had to go from my hood in North Labone to East Legon. I remember I had to pick about 5 cars to get to a place where I could have gotten to with just 2 troski ride and definitely save a whole lot of money and precious time. It’s a fact that the average Ghanaian is very friendly but for your own sake, you can sometimes do without a friendly help. Especially if the help sends you in the opposite of your original direction. You see, most Ghanaians would rather send you to the wilderness than to admit they don’t know the location you are asking of.  Don’t ask the troski mate and definitely not the Hausa koko seller. Instead of being sent in the opposite direction to your destination, use your google map on your smartphone and save yourself the stress. That’s the whole I idea of buying a smart phone; to make your life stress-free

2^ND GUESS OR 2^ND CHECK?
Unless you have 100.1% faith in the person recommending an item to you, please get your own facts! Money is very hard to come by these days so, it is only wise to spend the little we have wisely and satisfactory. It wouldn’t take one long to discover that the status quo in Ghana market is one seller recommending highly the wares of another seller to a prospective buyer. These sellers do this even when they know the buyer knows the person recommending and the seller are an item. Maybe the product is genuinely good, maybe not. But why throw your hard earned money to someone on the recommendation of the person’s friend? Please get you own facts and those fact should include – Is the person recommending an authority in the product you wish to purchase?  With smart phones everywhere these days, you will be amazed at the amount information you can gather about a product within a few minutes.

DON’T GIVE 30 MINUTES, GIVE AN HOUR + OR A DAY
So you were expecting the plumber at 9:00 and its 9:35 and you haven’t heard from him, huh? Don’t worry, he’s on his way. Actually he will get to you at 10:45 and act like all is alright. What were you expecting? It’s called Ghanaian punctuality. It’s like a chronic disease! I once waited for a carpenter for a whole day. He never showed up.

DON’T BE CONFUSED, WE HAVE OUR OWN DICTIONARY!
And we are very conversant with its content. It’s that simple. Massa means Master. Being called chef by the Kantamanto boy doesn’t mean or make you a professional cook. It only means you are the one with the cash at that moment so Massa, act like a chef if your wallet is fat. And oh troski (trotro) is our favourite mode of transport.

A house is a building or structure, enclosed by walls and covered, serving as a place of abode for human beings. The term signified a permanent habitation, usually occupied by a family.  These places of abode differ in structure all over the world.
In Ghana, housing can be grouped into three broad categories: the low-income, middle-income and high-income areas. The types of houses found in the various regions are determined by the weather conditions and other factors such as availability of building resources, family size and most importantly wealth. For example in Accra, the low-income housing areas comprise Osu, Jamestown, Adedenkpo, Chorkor, La, Teshie, Nungua, Sukura, Kwashieman, Odorkor, Bubiashie, Abeka, Nima, Maamobi and Chorkor.  In the big cities, almost 80 percent of the population are renters. In the rural areas, people normally live in their extended family homes.

In the northern parts of Ghana, houses are built to suite the hot climate of the place which usually between 14°C at night and 40°C during the day. For this reason one can find the following types of houses there.

1. The “Sege” (Log and Grass House).
As the name implies the “Sege” consists mainly of logs with Y–shaped ends. These logs and beams measure about 20 cm dia. by 400 cm. They are placed slanting with the Y–shaped ends looking upwards.  Several of such logs are structured and for twigs used to fill up large gaps. When this is neatly knitted the grass is used in covering up the wooden–frame. The grass is put in three layers in such a way as to allow to drip off. The door of the “Sege” is nothing more than a neat hole measuring about 60 – 75 cm by 75 – 90 cm. To enter the “Sege” one has to stoop low. Even though it is very cool inside it is neither spacious nor constructed to last long thus not suitable for a large or growing family.

There is also the “Kampili” which is erected with well-seasoned mud to the height of about 270 cm to 300 cm and sticks are used for the framework and thatch for roof. It is relatively durable as compared to the sege yet it is very much like the sege in terms of accommodation. The material needed for these houses can easily be found in the vicinity.  These are examples of traditional structure which house families that are conservative in nature. They are dispersed in terms of layout and found in the rural areas. The big cities have housing structures similar to that of the southern part of the country.

 2. In the southern and central part of the Ghana, most structures are built of blocks or brick and are well layout and are durable. Of course there are exceptions to the case as in places like Nima, Sodom and Gomorrah  just to mention but a few. The structures are temporal and mostly made of wood and follow no particular arrangement.

3.However, if looking to rent in the southern part of Ghana, depending on one’s family, social and economic disposition, you may decide on an apartment. There from 1 to about 5 bedroom apartments, sometime comes with gym facilities, health club centre and a standby generator. There are apartments in places considered to posh. For instance, apartments are found in in Cantonments, Airport residential,Labone estate, Spintex,Ridge,Kanda and those scattered around the city. This kind of housing house about 50% of the city population.

4.Single room self- contain is the term used to describe a single room accommodation with kitchen, toilet and bathroom enclosed. It is ideal for singles or young couples with no kids and sometimes students.

There is also what is known in Ghana as ‘chamber and hall’. It is similar to the single room self-contain but unlike the former this one has a hall. It is suitable for young couples with or without young kids, singles and students.

5.A detached house is on that the building does not share an inside wall with any other house or dwelling. It has only outside walls and does not touch any other dwelling. It is ideal for families seeking the privacy and comfort of an enclosed environment. It also serve as the resident for chief executives of organistion.

There are also the luxury homes. They are usual owned or rented by the economically sound. These luxury houses have a range of facilities as massive swimming state of the art furnishing, Jacuzzis.

6.There is also the type of housing for the squatters. People with no permanent homes take over uncompleted and abandoned houses or a neglected land and build aluminum and wood structures on these lands to live in. These types of houses are however against the laws of the land.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDING

Since time immemorial, man has always had the desire to protect  himself and all that is his thus the need to build houses. Putting up houses by man to protect himself and all that is his, is a wise move by all account as the importance of shelter in man’s strive for protection cannot be over emphasized.

However, it is said that there are two sides of a coin and in this case I couldn't agree more. Apart from the fact that houses or shelters provide protection for man against the adverse weather conditions, it also stores properties and goods worth fortunes to man. Houses contain our businesses and schools and so many other life activities. The housing industry provides employment for quite a good number of the Ghanaian populace both formal and informal.  But everything that has good a side will equally have a negative side effect if care is not taken in handling it. That is the issue surrounding the housing industry in Ghana.

Putting up a house involves many procedures and stages. These procedures and steps sometimes bring about undesirable side effects to the environment and the people in the environment.
         We all need shelter

1. when putting to put up a building, the land needs to be cleared.  Cleared of trees, weeds and other living creature such as rats, snakes and grasscutters as well as human inhabitants at times. Of course, one might argued that shelter for man is and will always be paramount to shelter for any other creature but hey, these trees and animals also have their uses even if these usefulness is not realized directly. After all, it is said that last man dies when the last tree dies.
2. Land degradation is also a major problem associated with building. For a building to last long it needs a strong foundation. At the foundation level of building, depending on what type of building or whether you it's just a storey high or skyscraper, you might dig just a few feet deep or sometime several thousand deep. If the next stage of the project is carried on right after the completion of the foundation stage, then there won't be a problem. The problem arises when the foundation is dug and left with no idea as to when the actual building project will begin. In this case if it should rain heavily or continuously, it will cause severe soil erosion, a situation all stakeholders are fighting to prevent.  
3. Caution should be taken  Again, if the foundation is very deep like the ones for skyscrapers, where the foundations are usually   pit-like in nature, it might breed mosquitoes and other harmful organisms.  Kids and other unknowing people might even fall in and get hurt or die if it is not fenced or sign-posted.  
4. Environmental PollutionBuilding construction sites are usually noisy. The human, sound from machines, metals, construction cars can create very loud noise which can be and are harmful and disturbing to both the workers on site and people in the locality.    
5. Noise pollution is not the only problem associated with building. The kind of smoke emitted into the atmosphere by construction gadgets and machines can cause serious health problems for both construction workers and the people in the environment.

We are always happy and excited about the prospect of moving into a new house or home. We help friends to move, we move out and in ourselves all time.Whether one is doing the moving or helping a friend to move, the feeling is almost if not always the same especially if it is a “brand new” house.  It doesn't necessarily matter as to whether a close relative or we are doing the moving, that feeling of moving and changing location never fails to activate the happy mood. But before you move into your new house, the house needs to be built, right?? So today we are looking at processes involved in building a house.

First things first

The first thing you do when you want build is to get a land or location which, of course, we all know. In Ghana, there are four main ownerships of lands. We have government lands, vested land, customary/stool land  and family/private land. You may get a land through a lease, inheritance or outright purchase. However, government and vested lands are usually not for sale or lease but family /private lands can be acquired  through inheritance and  outright purchase usually from community or family heads and.  


 Do Your Due Diligence
For non-Ghanaians, the process may be a little more complicated. For this reason, it is recommended you buy land straight from the real estate developers. Established real estate developers such as Regimanuel Gray realty but before you do, always check to see if the developer is registered with the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA). The thing is, you will need to know who are the real owners of the land you wish to buy are or is. To find out, you can let the appropriate government office such as Ghana Land Valuation board carry out a valuation search on the land you are hoping to purchase usually at a fee which will worth the expense. After you are satisfied with who ownership of the land, you may go ahead and purchase it. It is worth noticing that, your choice of location may be influenced by factors such as climate, availability of utilities, security and community infrastructure.Taking time to do a little due diligence never hurts.


Trust and Delegate to the Professions

You know the kind of house you want to build but you are not a building contractor hence you will need an architect to put your dream on a paper for the contractor to understand.Architects and engineers have special training and years of experience in designing houses, and are necessary for most building so if you contract their services, ultimately, the house you build will be built for you, so you should be involved closely in the design process.For a family house where the possibility of additions exists, remember it is simpler to add a room during initial construction than to remodel or build an addition later. If you only need 2 bedrooms at present, an extra room might be used for an office, storage, or even left unfinished and unfurnished until such time as it is needed.Number of bathrooms. In practical terms, one bathroom can suffice in almost any circumstances, but if the house is for multiple people, two makes life much easier. Having two or more bathrooms will also increase the resale value in the convenience minded home buyer's mind.
  In Ghana, if one is looking for an architect apart from recommendations from friends and family, one can contact the Ghana Institute of Architect for recommendations.  It must be said that few years ago, not many individuals used the services of the building contractors and architects as is the case now.

 

Get the right approval

Now your building plan is ready and so are you to start putting up your house.  Whether you give your building project to a contractor or any mansion, there are certain actions you need to take. You will need to buy building materials, find labourers and get a building permit!.  In Ghana, it is given by the district, municipal or metropolitan authority. In Accra, any person or organization wishing to construct a building, whether for residential or for other purposes, must obtain a building permit from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA). Apart from the building permit which is the major thing Ghana, you may also be expected to have a septic tank permit, an electrical permit,a plumbing permit and a mechanical (HVAC, or air conditioning) permit although the rules regarding these permits are not as strict as the general building permit.  

You may also find you are required to apply for and receive an environmental and/or impact permit. (Having the house location marked prior to obtaining your permits will help to work details out in the environmental permitting process). This is to ensure, among other things, which the proposed project conform to the building regulations and development control guidelines.

Buy in bulk and at source

You may also need to find a supplier for building materials. You need to find affordable labourforce as well. With finding labourforce, building supplies, you always ask friends and families or liaise with your building contractor that is if you have one. . Houses can be built from cement, sand and stoned, rough lumber (or even logs), compressed earth blocks, or modern materials like aluminum, glass, and vinyl. Find out what is available in your area, and what the cost will be. In Ghana, the common materials use are cement, sand and stone. Of course wooded is also use.

To get building materials at affordable prices, you can consider places like GHACEM for cement at wholesale price. Aside GHACEM, there are also a number of popular building material shops all over the country that one can find very handy.

You may also like to decide how much of the actual construction you will do yourself. Building a house involves several specific trades, or crafts, and to ensure quality work, it is usually better to have trained craftsmen perform the work but those that you know you can do best by yourself, it is advisable you do it yourself to reduce cost. of course, this might not be possible if the building project is given to a building contractor. 

Usually in building, it is at the foundation level that time is wasted or staled. After that level, things usually move fast, that is if all statutory regulations are adhere to and if no problem is encountered in areas such as lack of materials or misunderstanding with contractors or labourers. You might also experience some draw backs with the weather if you should start your project in the rainy season so you should do well to factor in this issue when deciding on when you want to start.

Another problem may also be in clearing the land for the project. Sometimes when the land have been left unattended for a long time, it attracts squatters and illegal inhabitants who may be very difficult to ride of when you finally decided to build. To avoid this situation, it is encouraged that when you acquire the land and you are not going to build immediately, you construct a gated wall to discourage people from inhabiting it.

Hopefully, if everything goes as you have planned and you follow all the laws and rules regarding putting up structures in Ghana, you house should be ready in no time.

ACQUIRING A HOUSE

In the previous posts, the types of houses in Ghana and human need for housing were discussed. Today, the processes and channels involved in the acquisition of a house will be looked at. The discussion will touch on the financial aspect as well as the avenues to look at when one wants to rent.

First of all, it must be understood that, in Ghana and especially in Accra, the major determinant of acquiring a house is the price or how much one is willing to pay for accommodation.  The location also determines how much a prospective tenant will pay.

1.In modern Ghana, rent charges are categorized into two based on currencies. There are houses priced in United States Dollars and there are those priced in Ghana Cedis. Those priced in U.S Dollars are the modern or contemporary houses like the flats and luxurious houses.  These types are usually located in the conservative part of town. In Accra, Ghana, these houses are found in Cantonments, East Legon, Labone, Airport Residential, and Ridge.

The of house found in Labone

2.With acquiring finance for accommodation, one can consider loans and mortgages like the one provided by Ghana Homes Loans, personal savings and financial support from friends and families.

3. ASK, ASK AND ASK some more
When looking to rent, one channel to consider is asking.  Someone will know someone who has a place to let but you will never know until you ask. You can ask your friends if they happen to know place available to rent. Also with asking a friend, you might not just be asking one person but who range of people since your friend will discuss with a friend who may in turn discuss with a friend and the cycle will continue. You can ask people who you know acquired a new place just recently. They might have some suggestions you might find useful. The possibilities are endless. You might get you desired accommodation in no time and with less hassle. All you need to do is to just ask, it doesn’t cost a thing!

4. Use Technology

With the advent of technology, people  find life relatively easy today. Today you can use the internet to do anything and everything including finding accommodation.  When searching for accommodation, one of the channels to consider can be social networks such as Facebook. Facebook has become a very useful and powerful social tool. News posting on Facebook can help since people on one’s page are normally on other people’s page and this may get people help in your search for accommodation. Also there are many website on the internet one can search for suggestions and ideas. This method is relatively cheap as compared to others.

5. Read the Dailies

The media can also be also be used. Announcements or advertisement can be placed on the various media houses both the print and the broadcast. This method was used extensively in Ghana in the past but not so much so these days even though it is still effective.


6. Use the realtors
Real estate agencies and their correspondent agents are also helpful in acquiring accommodation. It is a trending method these days. Most people seek the help of agencies and agents in acquiring accommodation.  This method is very effective but involves a lot of cost. The will be tenant must pay a Finder’s fee  of ten per cent  of the total amount one will pay to the agent or agency on the acquisition of accommodation with the help of the agency or agent.

A police bungalow

7. Government officials like the police and army officers are usually provided with government bungalows. People can also build their own houses. This is a long term solution though. People can also move in to their family homes. The problem with this type of housing is that there is lack of privacy especially if the place also happens to be the resident of one’s extended family.

TYPES OF HOUSES

A house is a building or structure, enclosed by walls and covered, serving as a place of abode for human beings. The term signified a permanent habitation, usually occupied by a family.  These places of abode differ in structure all over the world.
  

In Ghana, housing can be grouped into three broad categories: the low-income, middle-income and high-income areas. The types of houses found in the various regions are determined by the weather conditions and other factors such as availability of resources, family size and most importantly wealth. For example in Accra, the low-income housing areas comprise Jamestown, Adedenkpo, Chorkor, La, Teshie, Nungua, Sukura, Kwashieman, Odorkor, Bubiashie, Abeka, Nima, Maamobi and Chorkor.  In the big cities, almost 80 percent of the population are renters. In the rural areas, people normally live in their extended family homes.

In the northern parts of Ghana, houses are built to suite the hot climate of the place which usually between 14°C at night and 40°C during the day. For this reason one can find the following types of houses there.

The “Sege” (Log and Grass House).

As the name implies the “Sege” consists mainly of logs with Y–shaped ends. These logs and beams measure about 20 cm dia. by 400 cm. They are placed slanting with the Y–shaped ends looking upwards.  Several of such logs are structured and for twigs used to fill up large gaps. When this is neatly knitted the grass is used in covering up the wooden–frame. The grass is put in three layers in such a way as to allow to drip off. The door of the “Sege” is nothing more than a neat hole measuring about 60 – 75 cm by 75 – 90 cm. To enter the “Sege” one has to stoop low. Even though it is very cool inside it is neither spacious nor constructed to last long thus not suitable for a large or growing family.

There is also the “Kampili” which is erected with well-seasoned mud to the height of about 270 cm to 300 cm and sticks are used for the framework and thatch for roof. It is relatively durable as compared to the sege yet it is very much like the sege in terms of accommodation. The material needed for these houses can easily be found in the vicinity.  These are examples of traditional structure which house families that are conservative in nature. They are dispersed in terms of layout and found in the rural areas. The big cities have housing structures similar to that of the southern part of the country.

 In the southern and central part of the Ghana, most structures are built of blocks or brick and are well layout and are durable. Of course there are exceptions to the case as in places like Nima, Sodom and Gomorrah  just to mention but a few. The structures are temporal and mostly made of wood and follow no particular arrangement.

However, if looking to rent in the southern part of Ghana, depending on one’s family, social and economic disposition, you may decide on an apartment. There from 1 to about 5 bedroom apartments, sometime comes with gym facilities, health club centre and a standby generator. There are apartments in places considered to posh. For instance, apartments are found in Cantonments, Airport residential, Labone estate, Spintex,Ridge,Kanda and those scattered around the city. This kind of housing house about 50% of the city population.

Compound house is the named used to describe a house serving as a home to several household. The spacious that was found in the middle of house of the early type of this form of housing played a part in naming this type of house. The large space served as a playing ground for children from the various families and also a play where the women did their house chores. It is the traditional form of modern flats.

  

Single room self- contain is the term used to describe a single room accommodation with kitchen, toilet and bathroom enclosed. It is ideal for singles or young couples with no kids and sometimes students.

There is also what is known in Ghana as ‘chamber and hall’. It is similar to the single room self-contain but unlike the former this one has a hall. It is suitable for young couples with or without young kids, singles and students.

A detached house is on that the building does not share an inside wall with any other house or dwelling. It has only outside walls and does not touch any other dwelling. It is ideal for families seeking the privacy and comfort of an enclosed environment. It also serve as the resident for chief executives of organistions.

There are also the luxury homes. They are usual owned or rented by the economically sound. These luxury houses have a range of facilities as massive swimming state of the art furnishing, Jacuzzis.

There is also the type of housing for the squatters. People with no permanent homes take over uncompleted and abandoned houses or a neglected land and build aluminum and wood structures on these lands to live in. These types of houses are however against the laws of the land.