Former President John Dramani Mahama and President Nana Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo has come under fire from former President John Dramani Mahama for abandoning the $200 million Saglemi housing project that was initiated by his NDC administration.
Mr. Mahama, who is making a return, is perplexed as to why the government abandoned the Saglemi project in favour of a new 8,000-unit housing project on a 203-acre tract of land at Pokuase in Accra.
He asserted that the President should not have spent more than 500 million cedis on the National Cathedral project when the money could have been used to complete the housing that “will benefit thousands of Ghanaian families.”
“Knowing the NPP government, they did not want to complete the Saglemi housing project simply because it was initiated by John Mahama and an NDC administration,” he noted in a post on his social media page yesterday.
He argued that the government’s claim that it is unable to raise funds to complete the Saglemi housing project, while spending half a billion cedis on “the largest civil excavation in Africa,” was a humiliating slap in the face of Ghanaians who entrusted their mandate to President Akufo-Addo.
“Leaders must always prioritise the well-being of their citizens and ensure that they benefit from government resources and projects, regardless of who initiated them.
“Just think about the countless number of Ghanaian families who could have had decent living conditions over the past seven years and the individuals who could have had a place to truly call home in Saglemi,” he added.
At a recent sod-cutting ceremony for the start of an 8,000-unit housing project on a 203-acre plot of land in Pokuase, President Akufo-Addo stated that the government would have incurred more debt if the Saglemi Housing Project had been completed.
The Mahama administration invested over $200 million in the project, however, the housing units were never completed despite the fact that the funds were depleted before he and his NDC departed office in January 2017.
“We are aware of the delays and setbacks encountered during the execution of this project. The issues about the scope of work and the money expended on the Saglemi project have been taken to the Criminal Investigations Division of the Ghana Police Service for investigation which has resulted in criminal judicial proceedings,” President Akufo-Addo noted.
The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has charged five people, including two former ministers who served in the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.
They are Alhaji Collins Dauda, who doubles as the NDC MP for Asutifi South, and Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah, who was the Health Minister under Mr. Mahama’s NDC administration and later became the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing in the same regime, the second accused person.
The rest are Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu, former Chief Director at the Ministry for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Andrew Clocanas, the Executive Chairman of Construtora OAS Ghana Limited, and Nouvi Tetteh Angelo, the Chief Executive Officer and owner of Ridge Management Solutions Ghana Limited.
The President, however, indicated that in order to keep the project from deteriorating, the Minister of Works and Housing had engaged the cabinet, the Ministry of Finance, and the Attorney General’s office in its completion.
The government is planning to subsidise the 8,000-unit housing project with land and infrastructure, absorbing a key component of the building cost, while the private sector will contribute by raising cash to build flats on a cost-recovery basis.
The project is part of the Revised National Affordable Housing Programme and will be completed in two phases: the first phase, consisting of 4,000 units, will be completed in 18 months, while the second phase, also consisting of 4,000 units, will be completed in 18 months.
It will be done by five developers, namely Rehoboth Properties, State Housing Company Limited, Devtraco Group Limited, FrankPauls Ventures Company Limited, and Douja Promotion Addoha Groupe Limited, all of whom have several years of experience, competence, and resources.
The initiative has an approved Master Plan that will cover a larger catchment area than Pokuase, including the four neighbouring local assemblies.
To serve the surrounding community, it will provide facilities such as football fields, tennis courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, swimming pools, and children’s playgrounds.
By Ernest Kofi Adu