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Govt to prosecute former ministers over Saglemi Housing Project

Former ministers who played a role in the stalled US$200 million Saglmei Housing project will be prosecuted, the Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, has said.

Saglemi Housing Project

This comes after Ms. Gloria Akuffo, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice concluded criminal investigations into the conduct of actors in the US$200-million, 5,000-unit Saglemi housing project.

A letter dated May 8, 2019, signed by the Attorney General and addressed to Samuel Atta Akyea, indicated that the parties to the contract, namely the government of Ghana and Construtora OAS Ghana Limited, were bound by the agreed accrued rights and obligations.

The A-G's advice was premised on the absence of a valid explanation for variations in the original contract from 5,000 housing units to 1,502 units for the same $200 million contract amount.

Following the accrued rights and obligations of the parties, the then-Attorney-General advised that the Ministry of Works and Housing had the right to demand specific performance of the obligations of the contractor as contained in the original agreement.

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The advice from the Attorney General further stated that the original contract expired in June 2017 and for that reason, "there can be no termination of a non-existent agreement as requested by the ministry".

The Ministry of Works and Housing had requested the Attorney General to advise them on the options available for the termination or otherwise of the contract.

As a result, the Attorney General said: "The agreement, having expired in June 2017, the purported notice of termination by the contractor has no basis in law and is, therefore, of no effect".

Atta Akyea speaking on the floor of Parliament "A strong position in law that all the contracts purportedly signed by Hon. Collins Dauda and thereafter some wayward Chief Directors after the original project had received parliamentary approval have no legal consequence."

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He said "At the moment, the Ghana Institution of Surveyors is engaged in a value-for-money audit.

"Their findings will indicate the extent of embezzlement of state resources via the vehicle of affordable housing delivery. All the traducers of the law will be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction to answer criminal charges.

"Civil actions shall be used to recover money lost to the state. The audit will also project how much required to complete the 5,000 units with the full amenities. The Akufo-Addo government pledges to complete the botched Mahama Saglemi Housing project"

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