Everything in an Accra house eventually needs someone. The tap, the socket, the gate, the tank, the air conditioner. There is no shortage of artisans; there is a shortage of ones who quote accurately, turn up when they said and finish.

Finding one and keeping their number is one of the quiet foundations of living here.

How to find one

Ask your neighbours. Not the internet, not an app. The person next door has already found the good electrician and will give you the number.

Ask your landlord or caretaker. They maintain the building and know who does what.

Ask at the hardware shop. The people who sell the parts know who buys them and who does good work.

Ask another artisan. A good carpenter knows a good electrician. Trades refer within themselves constantly.

Online listings — Tonaton, Jiji, Facebook groups and a handful of services apps. Usable, and with none of the vetting that a neighbour’s recommendation carries.

Agreeing the work

This is where jobs go wrong.

  • Have them come and look before quoting. A price over the phone is a guess and will change.
  • Get the quote broken into labour and materials. These are separate and behave differently.
  • Decide who buys the materials. If you buy them, you control quality and price and there is nothing to argue about. If they buy, agree the spec and ask for receipts.
  • Agree the total, and say it back. “So the whole job, finished, is X. Nothing else?”
  • Agree a date, and expect it to move.
  • Agree payment stages. A deposit for materials is normal. Paying the full labour up front is not, and it is the single most common way people end up with a half-finished job.
  • Ask what happens if it fails. A month’s guarantee on the work is a reasonable ask.

The classic Accra failure

You pay in full on day one for materials and labour. The artisan buys materials for a different job, disappears for two weeks, comes back for “more money for materials”, and the job is never finished. Nobody is a villain in this story — it is cash-flow — and it is why staged payment exists. Hold the final payment until the work is done.

What things involve

Electricians. Ghana runs 230V. Insist on proper earthing — a great deal of Accra wiring is not earthed, and it matters more than anything else in the house. Ask about surge protection while they are there. — Electricity and dumsor

Plumbers. Most Accra plumbing work is about storage: polytanks, pumps, float valves, and the pipework that lets you switch between mains and tank. Get that right and the water problem mostly goes away. — Water in Accra

Carpenters. Furniture made to your dimensions, usually cheaper and better than imported. — Furnishing a home

Welders and fabricators. Gates, burglar-proofing, tank stands, security doors.

AC technicians. Servicing matters here — a dirty unit costs a fortune in electricity. Get it serviced before the hot season, not during.

Masons, tilers, painters. The finishing trades.

Landlord or tenant?

Under an ordinary tenancy, structural repairs, the roof, external walls, plumbing and electrical installations and the water tank are the landlord’s; minor internal maintenance and damage you caused are yours.

Put it in writing in the tenancy agreement, along with how you report a problem and what happens if the landlord does not act. A clause letting you repair and deduct the cost from rent after a stated period is worth negotiating for.

What to check in a tenancy agreement

Paying

Mobile money, so there is a record on both sides. — Mobile money

Get a receipt, or send a message confirming what was paid and for what. A WhatsApp message is a record.

Withholding tax. If you are a business paying for works, you withhold 5% and issue a credit certificate. Households do not. — Freelancing in Ghana

Keep the good ones

When you find an artisan who quotes honestly and finishes, do three things: pay them properly, pay them promptly, and recommend them to everyone you know.

Good artisans in Accra are found by reputation and kept by it. Being the client who pays on time gets your call answered first next time, which on a Sunday with water coming through the ceiling is worth a great deal.

Learning a trade — the same world from the other side.