Ghanaian businessman, Dr. Kofi Amoah, has proposed that parliament enacts law that will ensure that governments complete projects that were started by previous governments.
He observed that the lack of continuity of Government projects in the country is as a result of the “conflict and friction” between the two major political parties namely the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
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On his part, if the law-making arm of Government “stays in the picture” by enacting laws to ensure continuity, that will save Ghana from losing so much money from abandoned projects.
In an interview with Happy FM’s Don Prah on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show, he expressed: “I think we need a law to stop the lack of continuity. Government projects are funded by money from the citizens. If you go and borrow money to create something and you freeze it, time is a cost factor, you are still accumulating interest payment on the loan that you got and you are not putting the thing to use and it is piling up. I don’t know what parliament is doing but I think it is something that we should be able to make the laws against. This is because if parliament approves the loan to go and do this housing project, did parliament stay in the picture to make sure that it is finished? No. They just rubber stamp and then nothing happens”.
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Dr. Amoah further charged the Ghanaian media, to, as it were, serve as a watchdog for parliament to do its work. “I will like the media people to check on the responsibilities of parliament and how they are carrying them out. I think for a lot of areas, they [Parliament] are deficient”, he added.
The Ministry of Works and Housing has said it will require about US$32 million to complete the abandoned 5,000-unit Saglemi housing project started by the previous government.
It said a technical audit by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GIS) of the project, which initially had an output target of 5,000 units at a total cost of US$200 million, had estimated that additional funds would be required for its completion.
The Saglemi Housing Project was started under the Mahama administration
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah
