Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Sensing the grievous political repercussions of the said bloated cost of providing a residence for the new University of Environment and Sustainable Development, the government has quickly reduced the cost from €1.7 million (GH¢7 million) to €546,000.
After the minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by its leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had raised serious concerns over the huge cost of building a residence for the vice chancellor from the €45.5 million loan in parliament and the public backlash that followed, the deputy minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, withdrew the previous commercial loan on Wednesday and laid a new commercial agreement that revised the cost from €1.7 million to €546,000.
The reason given by the government for revising the figure was that the Finance Committee of Parliament was given an incorrect financial agreement attachment that lumped the cost of the actual building and the ancillary works on the residence that included asphalting road, sewerage works and provision of utilities.
However, the previous agreement stated categorically that cost of construction of the residences of the vice chancellor, pro vice-chancellor and one key officer of the new university to be determined by the University Council was estimated at €1,342,184 each, while the external works for the respective residences would also cost €308,087, making the total €1,650,271.
During the approval of the new figures, the Member of Parliament for Dome/Kwabenya, Adwoa Safo, raised another concern that value for money audit was not undertaken before the whole financial agreement was finalized and therefore, called on parliament to immediately demand for value for money audit on this new university.
The speaker, Edward Doe Adjaho, therefore directed that value for money audit be done by the Ministry of Finance on the construction of the new university, and the document brought back to parliament for further scrutiny to ensure that every cedi spent on the project is worth it.
The NPP MP for Atwima Mponua, Isaac Asiamah, told DAILY GUIDE that the government had been exposed again, stressing that ‘create, loot and share’ has affected every facet of President Mahama’s government.
As per the financial agreement presented to parliament yesterday, €10.2 million has been budgeted for the construction of lecture hall, €4 million for multi-purpose centre, €3.6 million for a laboratory and €1.3 million for two-way driveways.
The rest are €2.4 million to provide furniture, lecture hall, laboratory, multi-purpose centre and offices, €1.7 million budgeted for pre-contract designs , €1.1 million earmarked for post-contract supervision, €I.3 million of the loan money would be used for clearing of site and backfilling, €1.8 million for electric substation and generators, €1.6 million would be used for boreholes, water treatment system and tanks while €1.3 million would go into the construction of sewage treatment plant and external sewer lines.
Meanwhile, parliament also approved $24.5 million loan facility for sugar cane and irrigation development in the Komenda area of the Central Region to feed the new sugar factory.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr