There is a huge issue with renting apartments in Ghana in relation to private land lords. In order to try to fill housing, private land lords are offering 2 year advances to residents to allow them to get settled into their homes and save up enough to pay off the rent. The problem with this is that study’s show only 1/5 renters are able to pay off their debt after the 2 year period. These advances are causing a serious housing problem. The main issue lies in the fact that there is a housing shortage, as well as an income shortage, so therefore people are forced to take these two year advances that they cannot pay. The government in response, is planning to offer government funded housing for a small period of time for those who can prove that they have consistent and stable income and are also employed. Many experts say that this approach by the gov will not solve the problem and only perpetuate the situation.
Reading articles like these makes me extremely glad I live in the U.S. Although the housing market is booming and it is hard and expensive to find a good home, there isn’t technically a shortage of housing to go around. In fact, there are a multitude of options people can choose from. It is now even possible to live quite comfortably out of a van and to not have to pay rent at all. I think that a good solution for the government is to fix the problem at the source, and try to create more jobs for people to have. I think that the original solution the proposed only slaps a band aid over a bullet wound and does not address the issue as a whole which is that people do not have enough money.
I’m not sure how this article applies to what we have discussed in class. Maybe in how more democratic countries are more successful and peaceful? Ghana is a democratic government but is still struggling with extreme issues like this. The whole situation confuses me as to how they got to this point in the first place.