A key player in the estate industry Koans Estate has described the year 2020 as a challenging one for the sector.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Prof. Kofi Anokye, CEO of the company said the outbreak of the coronavirus had serious implications for them.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Rainbowradioonline.com he disclosed that Ghanaians abroad were purchasing houses in Ghana but the latter part of the year came with challenges as their case flows were affected.
He said Ghanaians abroad saw Ghana as a safe haven but the purchase dropped at a point, creating serious financial challenges for the sector.
He said the industry did not perform well the year under review.
At the local front, he said purchasing of houses fell to the lowest level compared to other years.
He stated that this affected their subcontractors including painters, carpenters, and other professionals.
This category of persons he noted did not get jobs because the company could not build new houses since they were trying to manage the situation.
He said the company did not also lay off workers despite the challenges they were faced with.
He however warned the company would be forced to lay off some workers should the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact persist in 2021.
He was hopeful the new year will be better but added “should the challenge and post covid difficulties persist in the new year, we would be forced to lay off some workers”.
He told the website he did not reduce the monthly salary of the staff despite the difficulties but will certainly lay off some workers to cut cost.
According to him, he has doubts that we are going to get well soon from the economic shocks the covid-19 has presented us with.
” Although our cash flow was affected, we paid our workers fully. We are tired and hope things will be better in January. I have my doubts though and if the situation, does not change, we will certainly lay off workers.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com
