The ranking member for Works and Housing committee, Vincent Oppong Asamoah, has described the sale of the Saglemi housing project as ‘state capture’ as the beneficiaries will either be members of the government or their families.
According to Vincent Oppong Asamoah, they will resist any attempt by government to profit from poor taxpayers unduly as the government has not explained why the project should not be given to public or civil service but instead of some faceless people.
During a media tour of the abandoned million-dollar project by the minority in parliament, the side called on Ghanaians to join their call against government’s plans to dispose of the project.
“We call on all citizens, home and abroad to join the minority as we resist any attempt by the govemment to dispose of this project through an opaque arrangement that would only benefit a few friends and their families. Our nurses need homes, teaches need homes, the police need homes, drivers need homes, civil servants need homes.
“We are by this press briefing serving notice to government that we shall resist any attempt by faceless persons to profit from the poor taxpayer unduly. After all the loan was financed by the people, the poor worker and we are on the side of the masses in this struggle. The Saglemi Housing Project is certainly not for sale,” Mr Oppong Asamoah added.
He recommended that instead of the project being sold to faceless individuals, civil servants and the public should be allowed to enjoy the facility.
“In any case, if the government has decided to sell these homes built by a loan facility procured by the people of Ghana, shouldn’t the first option be to release them for use by our security services who are in dying need of accommodation? After all, that will go a long way to ameliorate the accommodation hustle at the various barracks.
“We the minority thought that the State Housing Company should be made to intervene and complete these houses and make them available for public servants to procure through the original financing arrangement of Ghana Home Loans mortgage financing. Should we always sell everything that belongs to Ghana and enjoy the proceeds today, like we have done to almost all state assets over years?” he said.