Government has described the Saglemi Housing Project as a poorly thought out initiative that has failed to deliver habitable homes after 200 million dollars was sunk into it.
Some former government appointees are already standing trial for causing financial loss to the state over the project.
A former Chief Director of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing was ordered to appear before the High Court for his plea to be taken in a criminal case pending since 2021.
The Chief Director, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu who took office from 2009 to 2017, along with four others, have been charged with causing financial loss to the state and others over the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project.
Notable amongst the other defendants are a former Minister of the Ministry, Alhaji Collins Dauda and his successor, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah.
The others are the Executive Chairman of Construtora OAS, the Brazilian company which constructed the affordable housing project at Saglemi, Andrew Clocanas, and a director of RMS, the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) consultancy subcontractor, Nouvi Tetteh Angelo.
On the back of this, the government has cut sod for the construction of $550 million 14 thousand housing units at Pokuase and Kumasi.
Speaking at the launching of the national affordable housing project, President Akufo-Addo said his outfit is working to reduce the housing deficit and ensure its availability for the working class.
Today’s initiative marks a positive collaboration between government and the private sector, as it uses a different approach from previous government housing projects, where government funded both essential infrastructure and the housing units.
“With this approach, government will provide the land and other essential infrastructure, whilst private sector developers take the responsibility of constructing the housing units.
The initial project of this revised National Housing Program entails the construction of 8,000 units on a 203-acre land in Pokuase, and another 6,000 housing units on the 200-acre land in Dedesua in the Ashanti region,” he said.
The Housing Minister, Francis Asenso-Boakye also said that the Saglemi Housing Project was abandoned because things were not put in place for a successful housing project, adding that the new project will be affordable.
These projects did not progress as expected, primarily because it failed to consider the entire ecosystem involved in the delivery of housing, such as the availability of land, infrastructure, sustainable funding, building materials, and an inclusive demand side arrangements.”
According to him, there were no “comprehensive project planning or feasibility studies conducted” to establish the viability of the project before its commencement.
He noted that with the new housing project being implemented, the government has made the necessary arrangement for it to “stand out as distinct and exceptional.”
“This distinction is mainly from the valuable insights gained from our past experiences, inspiring our commitment to approach things the right way this time,” Boakye said.
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