Housing Woes In Ghana

As many of us know supplying proper housing is a problem for governments across Africa. in recent years some of them have made move to alleviate the weight of housing deficits. one such effort has occurred in Ghana where the government has spent over $100 million to build a housing project that they have as of yet left unused due to political nuances.

There are nearly 1,500 housing units dubbed the Saglemi housing project in the Great Accra Region which have been occupied for almost two years after the facilities inauguration. this first phase consisted of 1,500 units and they were supposed to build another 3,500 housing units to reach a goal of 5,000 units when completed. This project is yet to open its doors thanks to the mismanagement and corrupt activity of the previous government and the current governments lackluster approach to solving the problem. Currently more than half of the funds allotted for Saglemi has already been spent by contractors who have already packed up and left. The current government is in the process of investigating the negligence and trying to get back on track but it has been two years with little to no progress on any front pertaining to Saglemi.

Unfortunately this is negligence is not likely to end anytime soon and these completed living quarters will likely deteriorate further. These 1500 homes could have long been sold and generated revenue to build more homes but instead they stagnate thanks to greedy people who don't realize "prosperity is profitable". In the most recent news Ghana's Deputy Minister of Works and Housing stated the stagnation resulted from conflicting documents handed to her Ministry by her predecessors. According to the minister the primary contractor was paid $92 million of the $180 million total allotted for this project.

This is clearly an example of criminal activity happening right under the previous administrations nose. it is likely that the contractor has gotten away with stealing several million dollars and only rendering less than half of the services that they were contracted for. I'm sure if the contractors are tracked down they will put forward some flimsy argument and try to blame the government for its failures. This type of situation requires the peoples attention because if you do are not informed then your country will fall apart before you can figure out why.

At this time the current regime has said they will work to get things rolling again at sSaglemi after they have finished their investigation. Time is not on our side with such issues because the longer they take the more projects like Saglemi deteriorate along with the people trust. Accountability is what is currently lacking and it is your job as citizens to fill the void.

Image of what a completed Saglemi would look like.

Stay informed.
for further reading check out Why 1,500 housing units have not been occupied?