Asenso-Boakye to Minority: We don’t need parliamentary approval for Pokuase housing project
President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday cut the sod for the commencement of 8,000 housing units at Pokuase under the government’s affordable housing units dubbed: “My Home My Peace"
The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has said the government does not need parliamentary approval for the newly launched affordable housing project in Pokuase.
President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday cut the sod for the commencement of 8,000 housing units in Pokuase under the government’s affordable housing units dubbed: “My Home My Peace.”
The project, which is on 203 acres of land will come with provision for safe and eco-friendly spaces for children to play and grow, recreational facilities, such as football fields, tennis courts, swimming pools, as well as commercial spaces.
But the Minority MP for Bodi, Sampson Ahi, has described the project as illegal, adding that it needs Parliamentary approval.
“Under laying of papers in Parliament, this particular project is supposed to be laid in Parliament today, but this has not been done, which means the EPC agreement has not been approved in Parliament,” the opposition lawmaker said.
“So, you have presented such a document to Parliament for approval and it has not even been laid yet they are there cutting sod to commence work. What does that mean? Is it a slap on Parliament? Is it a disrespect to Parliament’s structures or what?” he asked.
Don’t politicise housing project
However, appearing on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (2 August), Asenso-Boakye said the project does not need parliamentary approval, adding that the Minority must desist from the practice of politicising developmental projects.
“We don’t need parliamentary approval for the project. I think he (MP for Bodi) got the point wrong.
“The developers – one of them is a foreign company – and because it’s a foreign company, the constitution requires that we have to seek parliamentary approval, so we are in the process working on that one,” Asenso-Boakye said.
“But the [other] four developers are all Ghanaian-owned firms, so we don’t need parliamentary approval. So, once we finish, they will also start,” Asenso-Boakye said.
Revised national affordable housing programme
The government of Ghana through the Ministry of Works and Housing initiated a revised National Affordable Housing Programme dubbed: ‘My Home My Peace’, which adopts a programmatic approach to tackle the affordability gap and improve access to housing for Ghanaians.
In this revised version, the government will subsidise the housing units with land and infrastructure, which is to absorb a critical component of the construction cost. The private sector will complement these efforts by raising funds to build the apartments on a cost-recovery basis.
The initial project under this revised programme entails the construction of 8,000 housing units on a 203-acre land in Pokuase/Amasaman in the Greater Accra Region, and 6,000 housing units on a 200-acre land in Dedesua in the Ashanti Region.
Thorough feasibility studies, including assessments of environmental, social, property, and traffic impacts, as well as housing stress and financial analysis, have been conducted.
Drawing from past experience, this revised strategy acknowledges the financial constraints faced by many citizens and strives to make housing more accessible for all, ensuring the success of the programme.
Reporting by Fred Dzakpata in Accra
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