Completed 368 Navy housing project ‘rots’ away

The government of President Nana Akufo-Addo, has abandoned a 368-unit housing project started and completed for naval officers by the erstwhile John Mahama administration.

Reports from the Ghana Armed Forces is that, both the Ministry of Defense and the Office of The President, are too ashamed to commission the flats and have them allocated to the naval officers, because they cannot do so without crediting the Mahama administration which they had accused of incompetence, wasteful, debt-ridden and corrupt.

For this reason, the two and three built room flats, located at Tema New Town, are rotting away as the government appears not interested in allocating them to the men in uniform.

The situation The Herald is learning is angering naval officers, who have no place to lay their heads and those of their families.

The facility built with taxes from poor Ghanaians, has recreational centres such as basketball courts, play grounds for kids, access roads, lawn tennis. It was built to ease the accommodation problem facing the security agencies across the country.

The Tema Navy flats, were built by the Israeli company; Amandi constructors.

It is not clear why the Akufo-Addo government is quiet about the impressive edifice, but some concerned Ghanaians are speculating that, the government wants to delay its commissioning and allocation to add it to its achievements like it has done to some projects executed by Mahama administration.

Minister of Defense, Dominic Nitiwul, has also become the butt of every joke at Army Messes and Navy Wardroom with many personnel saying his inexperience is becoming too legendry.

They feel Mr. Nitiwul, is too ashamed to lead President Akufo-Addo to commission a project embarked upon by the Mahama administration, especially so when he (Nitiwul) recently launched a blistering attack on ex-President Mahama, accusing him of appropriating a military land, and asked him to immediately vacate the land.

It turned out the land in question, had been a subject of the litigation between original owners, and it was later sold to a real estate company, from which Mr. Mahama and his family rented a house.

Military insiders also say, President Akufo-Addo government is ashamed to commission the project and give it out to the officers, because in opposition, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had claimed that the Mahama did nothing for the country, and while in power, they claim he only left debts with nothing to show.

The Navy housing unit situation comes on the back of the ruckus between the government and the University of Ghana on who has the right to manage the $217million University of Ghana Medical Centre also built by late Prof. Atta Mills and former President Mahama.

Till date, the impressive University of Ghana Medical Centre, is not in use, while Ghanaians, struggle for space in the few hospitals at the national capital.

The last time government commented on it, was when a Deputy Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, assured that the facility would soon be put to good use, but this assurance is yet to be seen ,while both male and female share the same ward due to non-availability of space at the existing University Hospital – Legon.

Many CHPS Compound built by the Ministry of Health under the previous Mahama government, has also been left unused by the Akufu-Addo government.