Ghana Life: A House In Kumasi
Since Ghana business grew to become unbiased in 1957 its population has grown rapidly. First measured in 1960 at 6.7 million, by December 2013 it had reached 25 million. This rate of inhabitants progress, mixed with the inevitable urban drift in creating economies, has had the impact of pushing up the price of land and housing in all urban areas and especially in the biggest cities: Accra and Kumasi. The story of 1 small house began in Kumasi in 1983 bears testimony to the general trend.
A yr before the plot was purchased it was on supply at 30,000 Ghanaian cedis, but by 1983 the going value had already doubled. The 60,000 cedis paid then had a realistic free market value of about $500. A second adjacent plot purchased in 1986 price one hundred eighty,000 cedis. It was already clear that pressure was growing quickly on available building land in a great location, in this case on a delicate hillside with an extended view close to to the University of Science and Know-how with easy access to the campus.
The plot was massive by later standards, measuring approximately 58 by fifty five metres or about one third of a hectare. A tough plan had been drawn up by the proprietor however an architect was hired to arrange working drawings. Both the architect and the surveyor have been lecturers at the close by college and acquainted with local standards and conditions. They had labored collectively on many similar building projects. The three-bedroom bungalow was a very modest construction by current local requirements but it surely was hoped to maintain prices low and building time as quick as possible.
Though building construction began earlier than the end of 1983 it was the tip of 1986 earlier than it was completed. The house was the first to be accomplished within the area and was thought to be having been constructed quickly. Several nearby plots had been activated however their more impressive multi-storey buildings progresses more slowly, presumably waiting for funds to grow to be available for every stage of construction.
The house was used only on occasional visits to Ghana and remained unoccupied for long periods. Sustaining the building turned a problem, and in 2015 an evaluation was performed with a view to selling. A local property manager estimated that the value of the plot, the land alone, had now reached 200,000 new cedis, equivalent to 2000 million old cedis or about $53,000. Thus over 32 years, the land had elevated in greenback worth by over 100 times. Little doubt the client may have a long-time period plan to build a mansion on the plot and the times of the little house are numbered.
John Powell
To study more about life in general and the intriguing story of the grassroots industrial revolution in the turbulent Ghana of the second half of the twentieth century, read John Powell's novels The Colonial Gentleman's Son and Return to the Garden Metropolis or his non-fictional account The Survival of the Fitter. More details of these books and photographs of the informal sector artisans of Suame Magazine in Kumasi can be discovered on the next internetsites.
A yr before the plot was purchased it was on supply at 30,000 Ghanaian cedis, but by 1983 the going value had already doubled. The 60,000 cedis paid then had a realistic free market value of about $500. A second adjacent plot purchased in 1986 price one hundred eighty,000 cedis. It was already clear that pressure was growing quickly on available building land in a great location, in this case on a delicate hillside with an extended view close to to the University of Science and Know-how with easy access to the campus.
The plot was massive by later standards, measuring approximately 58 by fifty five metres or about one third of a hectare. A tough plan had been drawn up by the proprietor however an architect was hired to arrange working drawings. Both the architect and the surveyor have been lecturers at the close by college and acquainted with local standards and conditions. They had labored collectively on many similar building projects. The three-bedroom bungalow was a very modest construction by current local requirements but it surely was hoped to maintain prices low and building time as quick as possible.
Though building construction began earlier than the end of 1983 it was the tip of 1986 earlier than it was completed. The house was the first to be accomplished within the area and was thought to be having been constructed quickly. Several nearby plots had been activated however their more impressive multi-storey buildings progresses more slowly, presumably waiting for funds to grow to be available for every stage of construction.
The house was used only on occasional visits to Ghana and remained unoccupied for long periods. Sustaining the building turned a problem, and in 2015 an evaluation was performed with a view to selling. A local property manager estimated that the value of the plot, the land alone, had now reached 200,000 new cedis, equivalent to 2000 million old cedis or about $53,000. Thus over 32 years, the land had elevated in greenback worth by over 100 times. Little doubt the client may have a long-time period plan to build a mansion on the plot and the times of the little house are numbered.
John Powell
To study more about life in general and the intriguing story of the grassroots industrial revolution in the turbulent Ghana of the second half of the twentieth century, read John Powell's novels The Colonial Gentleman's Son and Return to the Garden Metropolis or his non-fictional account The Survival of the Fitter. More details of these books and photographs of the informal sector artisans of Suame Magazine in Kumasi can be discovered on the next internetsites.
