Deputy Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Dr. Omane-Boamah, has pooh-poohed ex-president Kufuor’s stewardship particularly the construction of residential facilities under the Affordable Housing Project (AHP) claiming the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) could not even provide a single housing unit to accommodate just one legitimate tenant.
According to him, the NPP failed totally in their manifesto promise to replace slums and provide affordable housing units to Ghanaians.
The Affordable Housing Project (AHP) started by the Kufuor administration at Asokore-Mampong in the bid to provide decent and affordable houses for civil and public servants is said to have been taken over by squatters. The housing project was initiated on a 50-acre land in 2006, but construction work on the about 800 flats of one, two and three bedrooms stalled in 2009.
According to the Ghanaian Times newspaper, the squatters have occupied portions of the uncompleted buildings after the various contractors abandoned work for non-payment of jobs done. Early settlers have also turned themselves into landlords charging new comers between GH¢15 and GH¢20 for single room and GH¢100 for two and three bedroom apartment with hall toilet, bath and kitchen.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show, Dr. Omane Boamah castigated the NPP for the ‘careless’ way they handled the AHP.
“If the NPP had fulfilled their manifesto promise of replacing slums with vertical buildings and providing affordable housing units within their 8 years in power, things would have been different…if they assess their eight years in government…when it comes to housing, it was a failure,” he noted.
He said the NPP should have cut its coat according to their size by focusing on the number of housing units they had available funds for, rather than make projections they knew, they could not possibly finish. He, however, gave the assurance that the NDC will raise funds to complete the housing projects that the NPP abandoned, adding they will be waiting patiently for the NPP to come and sing their usual chorus of ‘we started it’ when the NDC government completes such projects.
“We are continuing and we are sourcing funds to ensure the completion of the projects they abandoned but my advice for all governments is that, we should bite what we can chew. If you have $30 million, why don’t you focus on some specific areas and complete them rather than go on a mass scale when you don’t have the resources. At least if they had completed 2000 housing unit, we could have accommodated some 2000 households,” he lamented.
He advised the NPP acquaint themselves properly with their (NPP) own manifesto and critically assess their performance during the Kufuor administration before commenting on the STX Housing Project.