The Parliamentary Minority has issued a stern warning to any developer thinking about accepting the government’s offer to purchase the Saglemi Housing Project.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), which would take over the country’s government in 2025, will reclaim the project and give it back to the Ghanaian workers for whom it was originally intended, claims Caucus, making such an investment will be fruitless.
On November 22, members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) and minority members of the Works and Housing Committee of Parliament visited the Saglemi Housing construction site.
This comes in response to claims made by Mr. Francis Asensyo-Boakye, Minister of Works and Housing, that the government is considering selling the project to a private developer since it is a failure.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has allowed the project to experience significant vandalism and deterioration since coming to office in 2017, the Caucus claims, and Ghanaians must witness these developments.
Hon. Vincent Oppong Asamoah, ranking member of the committee, expressed dismay at the vandalism and theft that had occurred at the project site and emphasized that the Minority would fight any attempt to sell the project.
He said that the Akufo-Addo administration allowed the facility to be plundered and destroyed for six years, and that the deterioration will serve as a justification for selling it at a discount to friends.
According to The Ranking, the affordable housing project that the NDC took over from the Kufuor administration in 2009 was not abandoned; rather, it was handed to SSNIT, who finished it and then sold it to Ghanaian employees.
“The government complains that it has no money despite having borrowed more nearly GH400 billion Cedis because to budgetary restrictions. The government borrowing funds to finish this project on its own won’t anger Ghanaians, he said.
Gizella Akushika Tetteh-Agbotui, a committee member and the MP for Awutu Senya West, was shocked by the damage and the missing fixtures and expressed dismay that just five police officers had been assigned to patrol the estate.
She maintained that the project has excellent intentions and emphasized that Saglemi could provide the necessary accommodation for employees of that industrial zone if it were built. Saglemi is close to the Dawa Industrial Area.
However, she added, “The military and other security agencies could have profited from the project, so if this has been allowed to degenerate, it is a problem we should be asking this government very serious questions about.”
“I’m dissatisfied, and seeing so much waste crushes my heart because I’m an architect myself. There are no wall cracks and the painting still looks beautiful because the houses were built correctly over the years.
She urged Ghanaians to oppose the government’s intention to sell the property, especially at the price the Minister was announcing.
Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, a member of parliament for Nkoranza South, said that the extent of destruction appeared to have been intentional in an effort to demolish the building. He collected samples of the broken electrical outlets, glass panes, and other materials as evidence.
He noted that because none of the current residential districts have double-lane roads with well-built sewage and drainage systems, the Saglemi estate is better organized than many of the towns.
The demolition, according to Hon. Kwadwo Agyekum, could only have been carried out by experts whose only goal was to demolish the buildings and lower the property’s value.
Andrew Dari Chiwitey, MP for Sawla/Tuna/Kalba, Kwame Twumasi Ampofo, member for Sene West, and David T.D. Vondee, MP for Twifo Atti Morkwa are more members who have joined the tour.
Source: newsthemegh.com