Hon Vincent Asamoah, Member of Parliament for the people of Dormaa West Constituency and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Works and Housing Committee, has called for an investigation into the recent looting of the Saglemi Housing Project by unknown persons.
The MP disclosed that, it is unprecedented that the site which is supposedly under the care of the police could have been looted so thoroughly without the police arresting any culprits.
Reacting to the situation in an interview, Mr Asamoah opined that it was important to get to the root of what happened at Saglemi. He argued that the project was meant to offer affordable housing to Ghanaians and therefore, must remain same.
“Everything has been removed. They pulled all the cables from the wall. So we are asking that even before we take a decision on that, there should be an independent probe into this to find out why these things happened.
“Because after I encountered some of the Ministers, one of the Deputies said, ‘oh we handed the place to the police to handle.’ So if you have the police taking care of the place and all these things are gone, do we have to leave it like that?”
Vincent Asamoah
The Saglemi Housing Project has been at the centre of controversy since the ruling government discovered that there were missing key contract documents and those available had various inconsistencies.
According to the government, there appears to have been a misappropriation of funds in the project, resulting in shoddy work, hence the decision by government to sell the housing project to a private developer.
The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, noted that the decision was taken after assessment and the necessary consultations.
Recent Developments
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the government of deliberately running down the Saglemi Housing Project as part of a conspiracy to have the grounds to sell it off cheaply to close friends of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The Caucus has refused to accept any plan by the government to get a private investor to complete the Saglemi Housing Project.
According to the minority, the project was not a failed one and that it was the government that had decided not to prioritize it. The accusations were made by the Member of Parliament for Nkoranza South, Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, during a visit to the site by the Works and Housing Committee of Parliament.
The Caucus noted that it would, therefore, do whatever it takes to compel the government to look for funding to complete the project.
“Trust me, I can prophesy to you today, that this is going to be sold to a family member, this is going to be sold to a friend, this is going to be sold to a business that is close to these guys in power who are saying it’s a failed project.”
Emmanuel Agyekum
The Minority further served notice to potential buyers that they may lose their investment should they go ahead with the purchase. They passionately opposed the sale of the development.
“Any private developer that will partner with the Government to complete this project, the project will be taken from him when we come into power because it should remain affordable for all.
“This Government has caused so much financial loss to the State. We are taking shots at what has happened here, and it is clear that they deliberately allowed some level of deterioration, so they can sell it to themselves. ”
Emmanuel Agyekum
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