Parliament’s Hansard Discredits ET Mensah’s Claims Over Saglemi Housing Project

Claims by former Housing Minister, E.T. Mensah, that the controversial Saglemi Housing Project had been covered by an agreement to have all 5000 units of the houses built at a go for US$200million has been strongly debunked.

Former Deputy Information Minister under the Mahama government, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, dug up a 31st October 2012 Hansard of Parliament to prove that the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s argument that the project was meant to be done in phases is true.

Per the Hansard, then sector Minister, E.T. Mensah, had told Parliament that the project would be done in phases.

“This company, as we have said has been existing for six months and they have entered into an agreement with the Ghana Home Loans. Ghana Home loans technical teams have also been examined. This is because they would be the off-takers. The houses would be built and they would buy them off. We are not building all the 5,000 at a go but over a period,” ET Mensah is captured in the Hansard as telling Parliament.

With this evidence, Mr. E.T. Mensah’s claims on a recent appearance on Metro TV’s ‘Good Evening Ghana’ show that the project had been meant to be completed at a go, appears to be the alternative fact.

Defending the omnibus claim, the former Minister had told Paul Adom Otchere that those claiming that the project had been meant to be accomplished in phases were lying.

“Everything is not true, it is packed with lies. You [host of the program] should have alerted me I would have come with the handover notes,” ET Mensah said. 

When Paul Adom Otchere reiterated to him that he had said that the project was going to be done in four phases, he said, “It is a lie, I was not involved in any phases, we knew that we wanted 5000 houses to be built (at a go).”

He explained that “The project started when the STX became a fiasco. It was Mill’s project, he was the one who signed and gave the approval.”

His claim was in response to an earlier clarification that Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had given in the wake of controversy over the Saglemi Housing project.

Mr. Gyamfi had responded, “The issues about the “Saglemi” Housing Project which are being disputed by Hon. E.T Mensah is a well-documented matter of public record.

Wading into the exchanges between Sammy Gyamfi and E.T. Mensah, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, posted an extract from the Hansard which captured Mr. E.T Mensah’s presentation on the Saglemi Housing project on 31st October 2012. 

The Saglemi Housing scandal concerns the Mahama government taking a loan of US$200million in 2012 for the purpose of building some housing units at Saglemi in the Greater Accra Region.

The controversy lies in whether the US$200million was meant to fulfill 5,000 units of housing or just some 1,200 units out of the 5000.