Appearing before Parliament on Wednesday morning after he had been summoned, Atta-Akyea said the desilting of drains was once again the “quick fix” measure put in place to prevent flooding ahead of the rainy season.

[contextly_sidebar id=”KbjVgUHOinzr6RqBXK1eBniGmApZsEIX”]The Minister, however said the GHc 5.5 million allocated for the desilting was not even enough.

“Desilting is going on and they are dredging the Odaw River and the rest of them. So when we take out the silt for easy flow [of runoff water], you won’t have that kind of spillover which is always disastrous. This is the immediate solution.”

“But I am saying that if Ghana should have a permanent solution, we should go to places where you will not see filth floating in drains. You won’t see any sewage. Everything is underground and it is going to cost this country huge sums of money but we better start to have a permanent fix,” Mr. Atta-Akyea said.

Without this permanent solution, he said the cycle of seeking funds for desilting drains which will eventually be filled with rubbish again “will never end.”

A year ago, Mr. Atta-Akyea, made similar comments ahead of the rainy season saying it will cost Ghana over $700 million to effectively and permanently deal with the perennial flooding in the Greater Accra Region alone.

He held that Ghana had the technical expertise to deal with the flooding once and for all but was only in need of funds.

Aid needed for solution

In November 2017, Mr. Atta-Akyea said the government had put together a road-map to provide permanent infrastructure solution to the flooding problem.

But because of the capital expenditure for the provision of the drainage and sewage to fix the recurring floods are beyond the national budget, he said there would be the need to seek external help.

No details were given on this permanent solution at the time.

‘Failed’ CONTI project

Also a year ago, the now-Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, O.B. Amoah, attributed Accra’s continuous flooding challenges to the failure of the Mahama administration to implement the CONTI project.

Mr. Amoah said the Mahama administration had ostensibly deceived the country after Ghana and the Conti Group of Companies of the United States of America signed a $660 million agreement for a drainage and sewage project in 2013 that is yet to materialize.

The widely publicized project was to involve the construction of a massive drainage system for Accra to deal with Accra’s perennial flooding issues.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku & Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the Minority, the recent rains in Accra, “if it is anything to go by, should be a wake-up call to the government to put in the necessary measures to avert the perennial flooding in the capital”.

Kwame Agbodza, Member of Parliament for Adaklu made the call when he spoke to the media in Parliament.

Mr. Agbodza has filed an urgent question in Parliament to summon the Minister to brief the House on measures the Ministry was taking to prevent flooding in the capital during the raining season.

Accra experiences flooding yearly mainly because of the haphazard construction of houses, especially on water courses, the poor drainage system and a poor waste management challenge that leads to residents turning drains into refuse dumps.

Mr Agbodza also expressed concern that, so far there is no clear-cut policy from government to tackle the perennial flooding problem in the capital.

He said however that government has the opportunity to take right measures to reduce the negative impact of the floods on the citizenry.

“Let’s not wait for it to come and then read another tribute in Parliament, give people State burial or put people in agony, we have the opportunity to actually correct the problem before the floods” he added.

Mr Agbodza further charged the government to take steps to desilt the drains, remove unauthorised structures and complete the various drainage projects to improve the flow of water during the rains.

He said with the provision of a good Forecasting Weather System, the government should be able to provide timely information and educate the public on the climate.

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Source: GNA

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According to Works and Housing Minister, Samuel Atta Akyea, the policy is intended to ring-fence about 30 percent of pension funds as capital for real estate developers to build houses for workers which will be purchased with a mortgage arrangement.

[contextly_sidebar id=”BEZ1r7wiPBpQDuASAoDbWXpHPj187mIL”]The cost of the buildings will be spread thinly for a ten to twenty year period.

Speaking to Citi News, the Abuakwa South MP said government is serious about tackling the housing deficit.

“We need what we call a credible mortgage system in which you can use about 30 percent of your income to service a mortgage loan but you can never get that arrangement in place unless we touch the pension fund.

“I am even submitting that we can touch the first tier, the second and the third then ring-fence about thirty percent of all the monies and give them to the bank at a very competitive administrative rates.”

NPRA, banks discussing effective mortgage system

Affordable housing is a major challenge for Ghanaians as the country’s housing deficit is estimated at about 1.7 million housing units.

In a bid to address this challenge, President Nana Addo had at the State of the Nation Address announced government’s plans of initiating policies required to drive down the cost of mortgages.

The President had disclosed that, deliberations are ongoing between the Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), and banks, to design an effective mortgage system for Ghanaians.

This, he said, is aimed at making access to houses affordable for the majority of Ghanaians in the middle-income bracket.

“Discussions are ongoing between the Pensions Regulatory Authority and the banks to underwrite an effective mortgage system. This will facilitate access to housing for the ordinary Ghanaian,” he said, adding that government is also working to attract private investors into the housing industry.

President Akufo-Addo was optimistic that, creating an enabling environment for the private sector will encourage investors to channel their funds into the housing industry.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This was revealed by the Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea who explained that they would rather be supplied with the raw materials needed to complete the projects.

The government arrived at this policy following what the Minister said is the misapplication of the funds by the contractors.

Mr Attah Akyea spoke to the media after meeting members of the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday.

“One way that we’ve discovered as a reason why properties those contractors are putting up delay is that the monies are not seriously applied to the task. And therefore if you are supposed to complete all the houses, we need to buy the materials…chances are that most of these contractors will use the monies for other purposes apart from what its needed for.”

“That is why we’ve taken this decision strongly, that we will not put monies in anybody’s hands, nobody is going to use government’s money to look after children schooling abroad. If its iron roads, we buy it, you cannot eat iron roads, it has to be applied to the project and if we go this way we will be able to finish all the uncompleted houses in good time. All that the contractor is entitled to is the cost of labour and their profit margin as defined by the contract,” he added.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) under the leadership of John Mahama initiated a 5000 housing units project to provide affordable housing for Ghanaians in a bid to reduce the country’s housing deficit of about 1.7 million.

Before the NDC government left office, they were able to complete about 1,500 housing units at Ningo Prampram in the Greater Accra Region.

I’ll complete Mahama’s housing projects

Mr. Atta Akyea had earlier promised not to abandon the state housing projects started under the Mahama government.

He said he will ensure the private sector is encouraged to help government bridge the housing gap in the country.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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The Ministerial Advisory Body is made up of the Sector Minister, Mr Eugene Boakye Antwi, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Madam Freda Prempeh, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Steve Aggor, Director in charge of General Administration, Ministry of Works and Housing, and Mr Robert Le Hunte, Managing Director of HFC Bank.

The rest are Mr Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, Director-General, NADMO, Mr Kwakye Depoah-Dei, President of GREDA, Dr Wilfred Anim-Odame, Executive Secretary of Lands Commission, Mr Peter Hayibor, General Manager of SSNIT and Mr Isaac Bedu from Institution of Engineers.

Members of the Audit Committee include Alhaji Yahaya Yakubu, Director of Housing at the Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr Francis Twum Boateng, Supply Officer at Ministry of Works and Housing, Mrs Mercy Naa Aku Offei-Koranteng from Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana, and Mr Isaac Amertey from the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Mr Atta Akyea said the Ministerial Body was expected to advise the Minister on adjustments in policy directions, planning objectives and operational strategies, and promote constant interaction between the Ministry and the users of the Ministry’s services.

The Board are also to establish strong partnerships with other agencies and businesses to respond quickly and creatively to the needs of the people.

The Audit Committee are to ensure that the Ministry pursues the implementation of recommendations in the internal audit reports, Parliament’s decision in the Auditor-General’s report on financial management.

The Minister said he was confident that the Committee with their expertise would surmount any challenges with the emerging partnership between the political and bureaucratic leadership of the Ministry.

Mr Le Hunte, on behalf of the Committee Members pledged to give honest, non-biased advice devoid of any personal interest.

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By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, the closure of the plant is beginning to take a toll on residents who depend on it as their sole source for potable water.

The Kyebi Water Treatment Plant was shut down last month because the water was left untreatable due to excessive pollution from illegal mining activities in the area.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Water Resources and Works and Housing, Abraham Otabil, in an earlier interview told Citi News “the Kyebi water system being run by the Ghana Water Company has been temporarily shut down. This is due to the peak rise of the water turbidity and also as a result of the raw water colour which has exceeded the threshold value of 200mtu as per the plant designed and construction hence it has rendered the plant and then fresh water resources untreatable.”

Mr. Attah Akyea said residents in the area are suffering as a result of the closure and therefore need government’s intervention to provide an alternative source of potable water.

He said, “They should come to the aid of the community by giving them boreholes, as many as they can, given the fact that the President could not prevent the messing up of the River which was helping about a fifth of the Eastern Region.”

The legislator also said he was unable to make any major intervention to assist the residents.

He questioned that “if the President of Ghana is not able to eliminate galamsey, how can a Member of Parliament cause arrest and deal with these illegal activities.”

‘Galamsey destroying water bodies’

Citi News has gathered that residents of the Brong Ahafo Region also risk losing a major source of potable drinking water, River Tano, due to the activities of Galamsey operators.

The water body, which has a total catchment area of about 1500 kilometers  square runs through Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, and serves the Ghana Water Treatment Plant at Abesim near Sunyani.

Several water bodies across the country are under severe threat as the menace of galamsey has heightened with little or no effort by government to stop the act.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

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