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Business news for Friday, October 23, 2020
Source: FM class
2020-10-23
Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea
A team of economists and technical experts, who have brought together their expertise under the umbrella of the Ghana Economic Dialogue (GED) to help shape the discourse of national development, has questioned the assertions of the Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, that The Saglemi housing project was a piece of machinery for embezzlement under the former administration of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by Mahama.
About two weeks ago, Atta Akyea said that the Mahama government diverted more than $ 144 million from the $ 179.9 million paid to the contractor in charge of the Saglemi housing project.
According to him, a report on the project signed by the president of the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, Dr. John Amaglo, indicates that only $ 64 million of the total amount released was earmarked for the project.
“The Ghana Institute of Surveyors has released a report showing that what is on the ground, measured with the money received, will yield a whopping $ 114 million,” he told Joy News’ PM Express.
“It is indicated in black and white that the amount paid to the contractor is US $ 179,904,752.5.
“It is clearly said that the total work on the land is US $ 64 million, the difference is what gives you the US $ 114 million I am talking about,” said the minister.
However, GED said its careful analysis of the project has shown that “no funds were diverted.”
Background
A few weeks ago, Mr. Atta Akyea revealed that all former government appointees and officials involved in the low-cost housing project are being investigated by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service.
Describing the project as a scam in an interview with the parliamentary press body on Thursday, October 8, 2020, the minister noted that it did not live up to the cost allegedly invested in it.
“Saglemi is tainted with embezzlement,” he said.
“There is no dispute about it, and I could tell you that the Ghana Surveyors Institution has released a conclusive report to the effect that Saglemi is a scam and the amount of money that has been spent on Saglemi exceeds US $ 100. millions and the housing structures there are not up to the money they have raised, “he said.
“So, I’m not here to embarrass anyone; I’m here to say that if you didn’t go into the legality of this, how will it continue? So now that we have delivered the report from the Ghana Surveyors Institution to the CID, we can now deal with the issue of continuing, ”he added.
However, the minister could not say when the project will be completed, but assured Ghanaians that it has not been abandoned.
“We are working very hard to address the Saglemi issue; it is not abandoned. He doesn’t give this nation credit at all. “
In addition, he revealed that investigations have been initiated on the matter and reiterated calls for people to stop politicizing corruption problems.
“They have invited several of them, including the Honorable Collins Dauda. They have been invited, but you see how civil the nuclear power plant is; We don’t do it as a drama, so the police take care of them. We’re not going to parade people like, ‘Look how they arrested this man or arrested that man.’
“That’s what courtesy is all about. You are not trying to embarrass someone because you think they have been investigated by the police. Eventually, the police might say they have nothing against the person and you would have embarrassed them.
“So all those people who were involved in Saglemi, they started inviting them. I say to you and even to the people who work in my Ministry, that they have begun to invite you. So the investigations are ongoing, let the police do their job. There is no propaganda or partisan questions about theft, theft is theft ”, added the minister.
In May 2019, Ghana’s Attorney General Gloria Akuffo advised the Ministry of Works and Housing to consider launching a criminal investigation into the review of the project contract, which was originally intended to build some 5,000 housing units at a cost of US $ 200 million.
The contract, according to Mr. Atta Akyea, was revised under his predecessor, Mr. Collins Dauda, to 1,502 units at the same cost without parliamentary approval.
“In the absence of a valid explanation for the variation in the terms of the original agreement, it is advised that the matter be referred to the competent authority for criminal investigation”, a letter dated May 8, 2019 and signed by Ms. Akuffo and addressed to the Minister of Works and Housing, he said.
The AG said of the documents that had been reviewed, “there is no evidence to justify the variation of the scope of the agreement in the first and reformulated agreement signed by the then Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Collins Dauda.”
In addition, the Attorney General indicated that: “There is no evidence” that the Principal Director, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu, “had the capacity to review the First Agreement and Reformulation of January 4, 2013” to reduce the number of homes.
The AG added: “Having expired the agreement in June 2017, the alleged notice of termination by the contractor has no legal basis and therefore has no effect.”
“Therefore, it is recommended that the ministry write formally to the contractor rejecting the alleged notice of termination,” read the letter in response to the notice of termination from the contractor.
Therefore, the AG advised the ministry at the time to ensure that the contractor, Construtora OAS Ghana Limited, complied with the original contract even though the government had already sanctioned the provision of 1,412 homes with a payment of 180 million. of dollars.
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