Don’t be wooed by Saglemi video

The Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Asenso-Boakye, has urged the public to disregard the video by leader of the All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga, encouraging the public to forcefully occupy the facility.

According to the Minister, the absence of primary infrastructure has consequences for the health and safety of the public who may be wooed by the video.

As such: “The Ministry will ask the general public not to be wooed by the populist appeal by the producers of the video in question to indulge in recklessness in the name of forced occupation (of an uncompleted development) since, in the absence of the primary infrastructure; it has consequences for their own health and safety.”

A statement, copied The Chronicle yesterday, indicated that a cursory inspection of the current state of development belies the fundamental challenge primary infrastructure which requires further investment.

Meanwhile, public finances, he said, were constrained by the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the completion of the development not an easy or straightforward task.

“For this reason, the Ministry finds this video to be a grandstanding gesture laden with diabolical intent, to say the least.

“The public is assured that the Ministry commits to securing the resources for completing the Saglemi Housing project, regardless of the outcome of the ongoing criminal investigations,” he added.

Below is part of the statement

The Ministry tasked the Ghana Institution of Surveyors to conduct a cost and technical audit of the contract executed by the contractors in the context of the variety of agreements and commitments made by the parties to the project. Upon completion of the audit, the Ghana Institution of Surveyors estimated that an approximate amount of US$32 million would be needed to complete the project.

The Ghana Institution of Surveyors identified several unmet activities that were the responsibility of the contractor, and a press conference was held to this effect.

Based on the foregoing, and in view of the absence of the critical primary infrastructure, the Ministry sought the advice of the Attorney General, who subsequently recommended for the issue to be referred to the Police CID for criminal investigation.

However, having understood the complexity of the issues surrounding this project, upon assumption of office as the sector Minister for Works and Housing, I directed the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited, an agency under my Ministry, to validate the report of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors and advice accordingly.

As recent as 18^th March 2021, I have personally visited the project site and have acknowledged the urgent need to complete the project, notwithstanding the complexities the project presents.

Several ideas and scenarios, including dedicating a section of the housing units to the Armed Forces of Ghana, have been mooted and are being analysed.

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