Minority outraged over abandoned housing units

The Minority in Parliament is outraged over government’s abandoning of over 1,000 housing units at Saglemi in the Ningo Prampram constituency.

They form part of a 5,000 affordable housing project started by the John Mahama-led administration in 2012 at a cost of $200 million.

The project has stalled for the past three years following allegations of corruption by Samuel Atta Akyea, Minister of Works and Housing.

Speaking after touring the project, Minority spokesperson on works and housing and ranking member for the committee, Emmanuel Kwesi Bedzra lamented that the government had no justification to abandon the project especially the completed units to rot given the ever-increasing housing deficit which now stands at two million.

“Our point here is that even if you are investigating, allow people to occupy the place, you don’t abandon the almost completed project for you to finish one day and come back and start all over again.

“In any case, the contract hasn’t been terminated, the contractor is still on site, allow the contractor to continue the work, I don’t think it is in the best interest of the country for the project to be abandoned just like that.

“Claims by the sector minister the $200million was meant for all the 5,000 housing units is inaccurate, I don’t know whether it is deliberate or not, but for us from the minority side, we are saying it is an investment from the government.

“We have secured the loan, we have guaranteed for the loan, we are paying for the loan, the government irrespective of who is in power should take over the project and get it completed,” Mr Bedzra said.

“Over 1,500 workers have been sent home as a result of stalling of the project while imported building materials waste away,” Mr Sylvanus Ahivor, Procurement Officer for Construtoras Ghana Limited, the company undertaking the project bemoaned.

-starrfmonline.com