Another Mahama Deal Crumbles

-As GUMA housing project joins STX in the grave

 
Another deal being championed by the President John Dramani Mahama appears to have once again failed to materialise.

 
Just like the botched STX Housing and Embraer 190 deals which were brokered by him, while serving as Vice President, the decision by the ruling National Democratic Congress government, lead by caretaker President Mahama, to enter into a deal with GUMA, a South African construction company, to construct 500 housing units for the nation also appears to have failed.

 
To many people, this brings into question the kind of judgment that goes into decisions in respect of deals championed by President Mahama.

 
After the failed deal with STX to build 30,000 housing units for the nation's security agencies, the NDC government entered into another deal with the GUMA Group, for the construction of 500 housing units.

 
The deal which was championed by President Mahama was widely criticised by various stakeholders, just as the STX deal, following the decision to sideline local construction firms in favour of the foreign company. The unusually high cost of the project was also a source of concern to many.

 
Even though GUMA had promised to complete the housing project by the end of the year, the deal is yet to be submitted to cabinet for approval, after months of being signed and with just two months to the end of the year.

 
Speaking on Joy FM yesterday, Enoch Teye Mensah, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, confirmed the deal was confronted with serious problems, citing the issue of getting money as the biggest.

 
According to the minister, the project was being stalled in view of the difficulty the GUMA group was facing in securing affordable loan for execution, adding that the government was also concerned about the cost of the completed project.

 
“The prices; we have gone back and forth on the financial terms; the loan is quite expensive; the payment period is too short, and the interest and even cost of property when they have eventually rolled out, so that is what is stalling it,” Mr Mensah south to explain.

 
 
He added that his ministry was still in discussions with the GUMA Group, and that government would want to ensure that it was convinced about the whole project before asking for approval from cabinet.