Former President John Dramani Mahama has criticised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for choosing to spend half a billion cedis on the national cathedral project while refusing to provide funding for the completion of the Saglemi Affordable Housing project.
Thousands of Ghanaians would have their housing requirements met if the Saglemi Project were completed, according to Mr. Mahama, but the President has refused to do so.
He claimed that because the project was started by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, he knew the President would not touch it.
In response to the president’s cutting of the sod for the start of the new housing project last week, Mr. stated: “It is intolerable that President Akufo-Addo spent over half a billion Cedis on a national cathedral project that is not even close to being finished nonetheless, refuses to commit cash to finish a housing project that will assist thousands of Ghanaian families. The project finally failed owing to corruption and is now abandoned.
Knowing that John Mahana and the NDC administration had started the Saglemi Housing project, the NPP government did not want to see it through to completion.
On Tuesday, August 1, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said that steps had been made to finish the Saglemi Housing Project, which had stalled since the overthrow of the John Mahama-led administration.
Francis Asenso-Boakye, the minister of works and housing, has been given the go-ahead to look for a private company with the resources and know-how to finish the project, according to President Akufo-Addo.
2012 saw the start of the contentious Saglemi Housing Project in Prampram, in the Greater Accra Region.
However, concerns regarding the project’s financial viability were raised by the newly elected administration of President Akufo-Addo.
As a result, some government officials, including Collins Dauda, the former minister of water resources, works, and housing, were charged with crimes.
Tuesday’s unveiling of a new affordable housing project in Pokuase saw President Akufo-Addo announce that Cabinet has charged the Works and Housing Minister with seeing that the Saglemi project is finished in order to keep it from falling behind schedule.
In addition to the $198 million already invested in the project, he claimed that an additional $114 million is required for it to be completed as planned.
President Akufo-Adoo instructed the creative Minister for Works and Housing, Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye, Member of Parliament for Bantama, to “explore the possibility of disposing of the Saglemi Housing Project covering 1,506 housing units at the current value to a private sector entity to complete and sell the housing units to the public and at no further cost to the government.”
He made reference to the formation of a technical working group and the Public Procurement Authority’s (PPA) recenta transaction advisor “with the necessary technical and financial capability to complete the project” has been approved.
