Bad leadership resulted in US$200 million Seglemi Housing ’embarassment’ – Atta Akyea

Minister of Works and Housing Samuel Atta Akyea has criticized the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration over what he describes as wanton dissipation of state funds with regard to the Seglemi Housing Project.

He told TV3’s Etornam Sey in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, October 27 that the project smacks of embarrassment due to the poor work done.

“If you have the wrong people in place, financial malfeasance will come to hurt in the long round,” he said.

Regarding the intervention of the Akufo-Addo administration to provide affordable houses, he said the government is coming with a mortgage system that will ensure that Ghanaians own their homes at less cost.

“With the right leadership in place, monies are being applied very well for the benefit of the good people of Ghana.

“Siting in Saglemi is a whole embarrassment of US$200million that was given to a contractor to do serious work.

“The contractor couldn’t do half the job and the monies that have been thrown away is $104 million.”

It is recalled that on June 4, 2020, the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, ordered a probe into allegations that former Minister for Works and Housing, Collins Dauda, irregularly varied a parliamentary approval for the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units under the Saglemi Housing Project at the cost of $200 million.

Mr Atta Akyea had told the House that his predecessor unilaterally reviewed the original agreement and signed a “dubious” agreement with Messrs Constructora OAS Ghana Limited to downsize the number of houses to be constructed to 1,502 housing units with the same contract sum.

“On the 21st day of December, 2016, 14 days after former President John Dramani Mahama had lost his position in the elections, the then Chief Director, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu, and the contractor, again, reviewed the first amended and restated agreement and signed a new agreement which reduced the scope of work to 1,024 housing units, instead of the 5,000,” the Abuakwa South MP said.