Accra: The Minister of Works and Housing, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, has called on the Minerals Commission and the Lands Commission to collaborate with the Ministry to effectively map, zone, and safeguard critical quarries and extraction sites. This initiative aims to address the ongoing encroachment issues on quarry and sand-winning sites nationwide, which are contributing to increased construction costs and exacerbating Ghana's housing affordability crisis.
According to Ghana News Agency, the encroachment has led to a significant rise in the cost of transporting aggregates, with prices climbing by as much as 23 percent. Contractors are now forced to haul materials from sites over 40 kilometers away from their projects. The Minister emphasized that the encroachment is not merely an inconvenience but a crisis with severe implications, disrupting project timelines, inflating budgets, increasing contractor risks, and placing additional strain on public finances.
Minister Adjei highlighted that these challenges result in stalled housing projects, weakened partnerships, and declining investor confidence in the sector. He underscored the government's commitment to bridging Ghana's housing deficit and delivering resilient infrastructure by preventing the situation from persisting. The Minister also called for robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to curb illegal encroachment and urged for innovation in sustainable alternatives to lessen reliance on limited natural resources.
Dr. Ebenezer Mireku, Executive Chairman of the Commercial Quarry Operators Association, noted that quarries from the southern area up to Kumasi, Volta Region, Eastern Region, Greater Accra, Western Region, Central, and Ashanti have been severely encroached. He stressed the dangers posed by communities encroaching near quarries, emphasizing that operations involving hazards require a 500-meter buffer zone to ensure safety.
Emmanuel Cherry, CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GHCCI), who convened the forum, highlighted that encroachment poses a significant disincentive to the construction sector. He urged for immediate action to tackle the issue, warning that housing and construction costs could rise due to the challenges faced by industry players.
The cross-sectoral forum on encroachment challenges in quarry and sand-winning zones gathered stakeholders from various sectors, including the Ministry of Works and Housing, the Lands Commission, the Electricity Company of Ghana, the Minerals Commission, NADMO, and quarry and sand-winning companies. Industry players called for collaboration among ministries and agencies to protect Ghana's construction sector from an impending cost crisis.