NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama
Following the announcement by the government to hand over the Saglemi Housing project to a private developer; Quarm-LMI for completion, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has criticised the move.
According to him, the government did not engage the allodial owners of the land before handing over the project to a private developer.
He said the NDC administration initiated the project after it had an agreement with the traditional authorities of Ningo-Prampram to build affordable housing units, and the NPP needed to do the same before changing the status of the project.
John Mahama has therefore vowed to review the handing over of the Saglemi Housing Project to Quarm-LMI without the consultation of the allodial landowners.
Addressing a gathering at Prampram as part of his Greater Accra campaign, the NDC flagbearer said, “It was the NDC that started the Saglemi housing project. We consulted the people of Ningo-Prampram before we started that project. After we left, this government abandoned it. Recently, I heard they want to give it to private people… But the point I am making to them is that if you are changing the status of that project from a government project to a private project, you need to discuss with the allodial owners of the land.”
“And so, I know they haven’t done that discussion. You cannot alienate that land by handing that project to a private company without permission, discussion, and negotiation with the allodial owners, who are the Ningo people. And so when we come, we are going to review whatever you [the government] are doing there.”
Originally designed to deliver 5,000 affordable housing units, the Saglemi Housing Project received approximately $200 million in government financing.
However, by the time the project was halted, only 1,506 units had been partially completed, with the development deemed uninhabitable due to the absence of essential infrastructure such as water, electricity, and sanitation.
A subsequent valuation conducted by the Ghana Institute of Surveyors estimated that an additional $100 million would be required to complete the 1,506 unfinished units; financing which the government could not provide.
Following this, Cabinet approved sourcing private-sector financing and technical expertise to complete the project. A Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued in April this year to achieve this objective.
To ensure a fair and transparent process, the government engaged Deloitte Ghana as the Transaction Advisor to evaluate bids submitted by Afro-Arab Properties Ltd, Quarm-LMI Consortium, Dredge Masters-Titanium, Broll Ghana Ltd, and Masiltin Group on July 8, 2024.
On Friday, October 18, 2024, the government selected Quarm-LMI as the preferred developer to complete the long-stalled Saglemi Housing Project.
SA/MA
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