Hon Asenso-Boakye commissions agency to validate audit report on Seglemi housing project

The Ministry of Works and Housing is in the process of validating an audit report put together by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors on the controversial affordable housing project at Saglemi, within the Ningo Prampram District in the Greater Accra Region.

According to the sector minister, Francis Asenso-Boakye, the validation is being done by Architectural and Engineering Services Limited, an agency under his ministry.

The Ghana Institution of Surveyors’ report, commissioned by the former sector minister Mr. Atta Akyea, raised concerns about the decision to revise the number of housing units from 5,000 to 1,502.

It also made some corruption allegations which are being investigated by the police.

However, the exercise commissioned by Mr. Asenso-Boakye seeks to validate the issues raised in the first report, including the $32 million required to complete the project.

Mr. Asenso-Boakye, in announcing the validation exercise, said the Attorney General had recommended that the issue should be referred to the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police Service for a further probe.

“The Ministry tasked the Ghana Institution of Surveyors to conduct a cost and technical audit of the contract executed by the contractors in the context of the variety of agreements and commitments made by the parties to the project. Upon completion of the audit, the Ghana Institution of Surveyors estimated that an approximate amount of US$32 million would be needed to complete the project. The Ghana Institution of Surveyors identified several unmet activities that were the responsibility of the Contractor, and a press conference was held to this effect.”

“Based on the foregoing, and in view of the absence of the critical primary infrastructure, the Ministry sought the advice of the Attorney General who subsequently recommended for the issue to be referred to the Police CID for criminal investigation. However, having understood the complexity of the issues surrounding this project, upon assumption of office as the sector Minister for Works and Housing, I directed the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited, an agency under my Ministry, to validate the report of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors and advise accordingly.”

The Minister also said the Saglemi housing project is in its current poor state due to corruption and the lack of proper planning by politicians.

According to him, the current challenges could have been avoided if a National Housing Authority, which his ministry is proposing as a solution to the many challenges facing affordable housing projects initiated by the state, is in place.

“In doing all that we intend to do, we also believe that there is a huge institutional gap in housing deliberation in this country. I don’t believe in putting housing development in the hands of politicians because I believe that it’s a technical job. The reason why you don’t put housing projects in the hands of politicians is to ensure that we can ensure continuity in addressing housing problems. If you are not lucky and find an unscrupulous politician in office, the end result is what we have at Saglemi.”

“Project failure is what you will experience, and it will not be properly thought through and the implementation will not go well and corruption will be the order of the day. That is all Saglemi is all about.”

About Saglemi housing project

The first phase of the Saglemi housing project has 1,500 housing units and was commissioned by John Mahama in 2016 but has been left unused.

The project, which was intended to reduce the country’s massive housing deficit is seated on a 300-acre land with one to three-bedroom apartments for low-income earners.

The $200 million project was initially for 5,000 housing projects.

In 2018, the then Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea invited the Attorney-General to scrutinize the agreements.

There were reports that key contract documents were missing or had inconsistencies.

The government believed there was a misappropriation of funds in the project, resulting in shoddy work.

Mr. Atta Akyea had accused a former Works and Housing Minister, Collins Dauda, of altering the original agreement for the Saglemi housing project without recourse to Parliament.

He claimed that after Parliament passed the agreement in October 2012 for the construction of 5,000 housing units, the then minister reviewed the contract scaling down the number of units to some 1,500 units and later to 1,024 units after another review in 2016.

The first phase of the project, with 1,500 housing units, which was commissioned by John Mahama in 2016 have been left unused.

The project, which was intended to reduce the country’s massive housing deficit is seated on a 300-acre land with one to three-bedroom apartments for low-income earners.