Politics
You wasted half a billion Cedis on the failing Cathedral project but not on Saglemi – Mahama slams Akufo-Addo
Former President John Dramani Mahama has criticised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s choice to spend half a billion cedis on the national cathedral project while refusing to devote resources to the completion of the Saglemi Affordable Housing project.
Mr Mahama thinks that completing the Saglemi Project will meet the housing requirements of thousands of Ghanaians, but the President has refused to do so.
He stated that he knew the President would not touch the project because it was begun by a National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.
Commenting on the new housing project that the president cut sod for its commencement last week, the flagbearer of the NDC said “It is unacceptable that President Akufo-Addo spent over half a billion Cedis on a national cathedral project that has ultimately failed due to corruption and is now abandoned, yet refuses to commit funds to complete a housing project that will help thousands of Ghanaian families.
“Knowing the NPP government they did not want to complete the Saglemi Housing project simply because it was initiated by John Mahama and the NDC administration.”
On Tuesday, August 1, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo disclosed that efforts had been made to finish the Saglemi Housing Project, which had been halted since the fall of the John Mahama-led administration.
President Akufo-Addo stated that the Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has been authorised to seek a private organisation with the financial and technical capacity to complete the project.
The contentious Saglemi Housing Project began in Prampram, Greater Accra Region, in 2012.
However, the new administration led by President Akufo-Addo voiced concerns about the project’s financial viability.
This resulted in criminal charges being brought against several government officials, including the then-Minister of Water Resources, Works, and Housing, Collins Dauda.
President Akufo-Addo stated on Tuesday at the unveiling of a new affordable housing project in Pokuase that Cabinet has entrusted the Works and Housing Minister with ensuring the completion of the Saglemi project to avoid it from deteriorating.
He stated that, in addition to the $198 million already invested in the project, a total of $114 million is required for its completion.
“Based on these assessments and having taken into account the project location and viability, Cabinet directed the resourceful Minister for Works and Housing, Hon Francis Asenso-Boakye, Member of Parliament for Bantama, to ‘explore the possibility of disposing of the Saglemi Housing Project covering 1,506 housing units at the current value to a private sector entity to complete and sell the housing units to the public and no further cost to the govt’,” President Akufo-Addo told the gathering at the sod-cutting ceremony of the new project.
He hinted at the formation of a technical working group, and the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) has already approved the hiring of a transaction adviser “with the necessary technical and financial capability to complete the project.”
“Indeed the lessons learned from the Saglemi Housing Project have been invaluable in shaping the approach and execution of this new affordable housing initiative.”
Politics
OccupyJulorBiHouse: Organisers’ derogatory depiction of the presidency is reprehensible – Richard Ahiagbah
The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Communications Director, Richard Ahiagbah, has voiced his concern with the disrespectful captioning of the Jubilee House by leaders of the pressure organisation, Democracy Hub.
The organisers of the scuttled demonstration in Accra on Thursday, Democracy Hub, had dubbed the protest to occupy the precincts of the seat of government, Jubilee House, #OccupyJulorBiHouse, with ‘julorbi’ being a parody of the official name of the presidency in the Ga language, which loosely translates as ‘the child of a thief’.
Mr Ahiagbah, who backed citizens’ freedom to demonstrate, disagreed with the disparaging portrayal of the presidency.
“I don’t agree with the derogatory caption of the Presidency by the organizers of the demonstration, but impeding their right to peaceful assembly is an affront to democracy, plain and simple.”
The NPP Communications Director pointed out that there have been numerous peaceful demonstrations during President Akufo-Addo’s presidency, including the Arise Ghana demo and the Kume Preko demo, which he said did not record such events as happened on Thursday, and wondered why anyone would think the government was behind the disruption of Thursday’s demonstration.
“This is not the publicity we need on a day such as this…Allow!,” he said, in apparent condemnation of the police action.
He highlighted that the Ghana Police Service’s meddling and arrest of demonstrators who took part in the #OccupyJulorBiHouse movement is a violation of the people’s rights.
Mr Ahiagbah stressed in a post on Thursday, September 21, that “the people’s ability to engage in peaceful demonstrations is an inherent democratic right.”
Any action that prevents persons from enjoying this basic freedom, in his opinion, is just wrong.
According to Democracy Hub, the rally was held to stress their demands for lower living costs, an end to corruption, and improved governance, among other things.
However, in the early hours of Thursday, September 21, police detained 49 protestors, accusing them of unlawful assembly and violating the Public Order Act.
The detained individuals ignored court documents filed on the organisers, Democracy Hub, to prevent them from carrying out the scheduled rally.
Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s 2020 running mate, has responded to the arrest of #OccupyJulorBiHouse activists.
It is undemocratic and useless, she claims.
The former Education Minister stated on Twitter that the police should have engaged the demonstrators rather than arrest them.
As a result, she has supported demands for the demonstrators to be arrested immediately.
https://x.com/NJOAgyemang/status/1704832264251601273?s=20
Several demonstrators were detained and escorted to the Regional Police Headquarters, including Fix The Country chairman Oliver Barker Vormawor.
They were detained in the early hours of September 21 for violating a police order prohibiting the march.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has voiced grave worry over the growing number of coups on the African continent.
He links these military takeovers to nations’ difficult economic situations, which resulted in the deposition of democratically elected governments.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II spoke out strongly against military coups as a solution to Africa’s issues during the St. Andrews Africa Summit in Scotland.
He emphasised that, regardless of the circumstances, armed takeovers are not the solution.
“Let me make it categorically clear that regardless of the circumstances, I do not think that a military takeover offers the solution to the problems of our continent. There was a time when circumstances produced the notion that the gun was the solution, those times are over. We are in completely different circumstances now. The critical problems confronting Africans’ economy from North to South, East to West, the burden is the economy,” the Asantehene said.
Several African nations, including Niger and Gabon, have undergone coups in recent years.
The most recent event happened in Gabon on August 30, when military soldiers took control and proclaimed the annulment of election results that had pronounced President Ali Bongo the winner.
The announcement of the Electoral Commission generated suspicions of fraud by the opposition.
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