The abandoned housing project has triggered a national conversation
A former Ranking Member on Parliament’s Water Resources, Works and Housing Committee, and Member of Parliament for Ho West, Emmanuel Bedzrah, has attributed stale government projects to the failure of successive governments to continue works started by predecessors.
Emmanuel Bedzrah, who blamed both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said these two main political parties have failed in continuing each other’s projects.
This comment by the lawmaker is in line with the Saglemi Housing project that has been left uncompleted for years now.
The Minister for Works and Housing, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, has revealed that it will require an additional US$32million to complete the abandoned 5,000-unit Saglemi housing project.
The minister in a press briefing said a technical audit by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors on the Saglemi Project which initially had an output target of 5000 units at a total cost of US$200million had estimated that additional funds would be required to complete the project.
“The original output target of the Saglemi project of 5,000 units at a total cost of US$200million as stipulated in the financing agreement presented to, and approved by Parliament had surreptitiously, and drastically, reduced to 1,502, of which 1,389 units had been completed without a commensurate reduction in the overall loan financing.
“Currently, an amount of approximately, US$197million representing 98 percent has been expended on 1,502 units as against the planned 5,000 units,” Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye told press men.
Speaking to Kaakyire Ofori Ayim on Atinka FM’s AM Drive, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Water Resources, Works and Housing Committee, and Member of Parliament for Ho West, Emmanuel Bedzrah, called on Civil Society Organization (CSO’s) to hold successive governments accountable and ensure that uncompleted projects of erstwhile governments are completed on time.
“The issue of governments failing to continue projects started by previous administrations is not being solved. Both the NDC and the NPP are culprits. If CSOs are to ensure that governments complete the works of their predecessors the issue of stale projects will be a thing of the past,” Emmanuel Bedzrah told Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.