The Minister of State in-charge of Works and Housing, Freda Prempeh has assured Ghanaians that the Saglemi Housing Project will soon be put to good use.
She explained that Government has not deliberately ‘hijacked’ the housing project while some Ghanaians lack accommodation.
Giving an update on the Saglemi Housing project during the special Happy Development Dialogue with Don Prah, she said: “The Saglemi issue is still a case in court and as such we cannot talk much about it. It is never the government’s intention to allow the project to rot while some Ghanaians do not have accommodation. Ghanaians must be patient with the government and rest assured that government will put the project to good use.”
The Minister hinted that the Architectural & Engineering Services Limited (AES Ltd) and Institute of Surveyors have been tasked to ensure that the project is habitable.
She, however, noted that the ministry awaits the advice of the Attorney-General before taking any decisions.
Saglemi Housing Project
In 2012, the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government began the construction of the Saglemi Affordable Housing project at Prampram in the Ningo Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region.
The facility was meant to be a 5000-residential unit facility to ease the accommodation deficit in the country.
It sits on a 300-acre land with one to three-bedroom flats for low-income earners.
Phase One of the US$200 million project saw the construction of 180 blocks comprising over 1,500 flats.
Soon after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) came to power, however,the project has become a matter of controversy, following years of abandonment.
The Attorney General’s Office pressed criminal charges against former Works and Housing Minister Collins Dauda.
The former Minister was subsequently charged with 10 counts of causing financial loss to the state in the Saglemi Housing deal.
Mr. Dauda, who supervised the initiative at the time the project was approved by Parliament, was also been charged with intentionally misapplying public property.