NDC Officials Cited In Abandoned Saglemi Housing Project To Face Prosecution – Atta Akyea

All former NDC government officials involved in the botched Saglemi Housing deal will soon face criminal prosecution, Works and Housing Minister, Samuel Atta Akyea has disclosed.

The legal processes will commence upon the completion of a value for money audit by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors to ascertain the extent of embezzlement .

The US$200 million project located in the Greater Accra Region is near completion but has stalled for the past three years to allow for a government probe into alleged infractions regarding the execution of the deal.

It has become a subject of controversy following complaints of abandonment.

But responding to questions in Parliament, Mr. Atta Akyea assured that civil action will be pursued to recover monies lost to the state.

“A strong position in law that all the contracts purportedly signed by Hon. Collins Dauda and thereafter some wayward Chief Directors after the original project had received parliamentary approval have no legal consequence. At the moment, the Ghana Institution of Surveyors is engaged in a value for money audit. Their findings will indicate the extent of embezzlement of state resources via the vehicle of affordable housing delivery. All the traducers of the law will be arraigned before a law of competent jurisdiction to answer criminal charges. Civil actions shall be used to recover money lost to the state The audit will also project how much required to complete the 5000 units with the full amenities. The Akufo-Addo government pledges to complete the botched Mahama Saglemi Housing project.”

The Saglemi Housing project has stalled over allegations that the country was shortchanged with the provision of less than 1,500 housing units as against the initial agreement of 5,000 housing units.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has been accused by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of leaving the project to rot but the Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea has said that the government is auditing the project and may be forced to terminate the contract with the company since it appears the state has been shortchanged.

Allegations

Mr. Atta Akyea, has alleged that after Parliament passed the agreement in October 2012 for the construction of 5,000 housing units at 200 million dollars, the then Housing Minister, Collins Dauda 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.

He also said the apparent neglect of the project is because the contractor had misappropriated $129 million of the project funds.

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

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.

— citinewsroom