Government is likely to leave the country’s vice presidential residence
to rot away as it has now emerged there are no immediate plans to resume
construction work on the 13.9 million-dollar project.
Started under the previous administration, construction work on the
project was halted in 2017 due to the huge amount the Akufo-Addo
government said is involved in completing the building to house Ghana’s
vice president.
Vice president Dr Mahammudu Bawumia in January 2017 revealed the
building was costing the taxpayer 13.9 millon dollars and questioned why
the John Mahama-led government awarded a sole-sourced contract for vice
presidential building at such a whopping amount.
“…Can you believe in Ghana we are building a house to house our vice
president and this house is supposed to cost US$13.9million? I mean what
sort of house is this supposed to be? I mean is the gate made of gold,
the pavement of gold, the blocks of gold?” he asked.
For him, that amount could construct several boreholes across the country to provide potable water to the people.
Almost three years after the project was abandoned by the contractor on
grounds of government indebtedness, not much has been said of it by the
government.
Asked about the status of the project during a tour of Media General
Tuesday, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said he has not
received any government communication to the effect that work on the
project will resume anytime soon.
“I don’t have a brief that suggests that of the major expense items that
we need to immediately get off the table, it is listed as one of the
major expense items,” Mr Oppong Nkrumag told Media General journalists
during an interaction session with them as part of his tour.
He said what government is concerned about at this time are road
infrastructure, education and health among other critical areas of the
economy, suggesting the vice presidential residence is not on the table
of government.
“If I look at the major expense items, it’s roads, Senior Highs Schools,
infrastructure, medical facilities etc. These are the ones that are
priority on the list at this point in time,” he indicated.
Pushed further to know what government’s plans are for the project,
which stands deteriorating day by day, Mr. Nkrumah insisted it is not on
government’s current list of projects.
“I don’t have a brief that say it’s on the list of expenses we want to incur at this point in time”, he insisted.
Gov’t to build capacities of journos
Meanwhile, the Mr Oppong Nkrumah has among other things, announced plans
by the government to help enhance the capacities of journalists through
what he called the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme.
He said it is on government agenda to have a consolidated mechanism for the safety of journalists in the country.
The tour
The Minister’s tour of Media General and the Despite Group of Companies
is part of a nationwide exercise to continuously engage with the media
as part of efforts to deal with emerging issues in the sector.
He led a delegation from his Ministry including his deputy, Pius Enam- Hadzide.