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PHOTOS: Government to terminate “almost-ready” 1,412-unit housing contract

The Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, has declared that the government intends to terminate the existing contract for the Saglemi housing project.

According to the Housing Minister, the state was shortchanged in the US$180 million deal, which was entered into by the John Mahama government.

The project was for the construction of 5,000 units of affordable housing.

The Minority in Parliament, after touring the project site on Tuesday, demanded negotiation between the contractors and the government to get them back to the site to complete the work.

They also urged the government to ensure that the units already completed are occupied.

But the sector minister, Samuel Atta Akyea, said the case has been referred to the Attorney General for advice.

“We realised a dubious shortchange in terms of contract sum and the delivery of the housing units, and we believe that there are challenges of value-for-money analysis. So we have made reference to the Attorney General for advice, because we intend terminating the contract, taking over the project for completion, and when we see any malfeasance, we will address it,” he said.

In 2018 Atta Akyea said the housing units lacked essential amenities such as water, electricity and drainage systems.

“The Saglemi structure that we see over there is a huge trouble. If we should go into why it has not been inhabited, we will go into crisis. I can assure you there is a challenge in terms of how the monies were faithfully applied to the project, matters that the Attorney General would have to look at and EOCO investigate,” he said.

The project is being undertaken by Messrs Constructora OAS Ltd as the contractor, with the client being the Ministry of Works and Housing. Ridge Management Solutions, RMS Ghana Ltd is serving as the consultant on the project.

A total of 5,000 housing units were to be delivered by the end of the contract.

The first phase of the project, which comprises 1,412 units, consisting of two- and three-bedroom homes and 116 normal town housing units, is practically complete. One unit has been designated for a police station. Six hundred and thirty-six out of the 1,024 units were also completed for occupation.

The remaining 388, the minister said, are 70 per cent complete.

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Henry Cobblah

Henry Cobblah is a Tech Developer, Entrepreneur, and a Journalist. With over 15 Years of experience in the digital media industry, he writes for over 7 media agencies and shows up for TV and Radio discussions on Technology, Sports and Startup Discussions.

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