SONA 2019: Big Boost For SHC …Affordable Housing Coming

The government of Ghana is working closely with the nation’s Number one builder, State Housing Company to undertake housing projects for State institutions such as the Police and the Forces, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo disclosed Thursday when he delivered the State of the Nation’s Address in Parliament.

“Government will continue with the other housing projects for the Police, Armed Forces and government workers across the country through agencies like the State Housing Company”, the President announced.

The announcement by the President comes at a time when SHC was vigorously pursuing collaboration with various state institutions to provide residential and office accommodation for them.

It would be recalled that the resuscitated State Housing Company was in the 2019 Budget given the mandate to complete all abandoned housing projects started by previous governments.

Accommodation seekers received the news with joy especially because SHC has seen a tremendous turn around over the past year and has the capacity to complete all such projects across the country.

Top on the list of uncompleted and abandoned projects is the SAGLEMI Housing project in the Greater Accra region.

“Government through SHC is looking to partner with private sector developers to deliver housing across the country in every region and to complete all the uncompleted housing projects across the country”, the Finance Minister announced.

It would be recalled that the Minister of Works and Housing recently described as “white elephant”, a 1500 housing unit built under the Saglemi Housing project at Tsopoli in the Ningo-Prampram District in the Greater Accra Region.

According to him, the housing units which were inaugurated by former president John Mahama in 2016 were without basic amenities like water, electricity and drainage systems.

The Minister imputed criminality to the project which he said has suffered major deficit.

“The Seglemi structure that we see over there is a huge trouble. If we should go into why it has not been inhabited we will go into crisis. I can assure you there is a challenge in terms of how the monies were faithfully applied to the project, matters that the Attorney-General would have to look at and EOCO to investigate.

“They do not have the requisite infrastructure and amenities for people to go and inhabit the place. They do not have water facilities and decent drainage systems and therefore the money intended for the project has been spirited away with this kind of white elephant we are seeing,” he said.

The $180million project, the first phase of which was inaugurated in 2016 has been without life almost two years after they were inaugurated.

President Akufo-Addo, however, said that the government was doing value for money analysis into the controversial Saglemi housing project.