On the 29th of November 2019, it was all joy for the people of Talensi District of Upper East Region, especially, those from the Pusu-Namoo enclave. This is because the President, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo had cut sod for the commencement of 120 affordable housing units to ease the housing deficit in the region.
The excitement that greeted this project was short-lived as work on the said project has stalled with very little progress to show since ground was broken for work to begin.
Residents of the Pusu-Namoo Electoral say the last time they heard anything regarding the project was when the Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia gave an update on the project saying that, the project was 20 per cent complete. At the time the Vice President made those remarks, a pathway had been created and clearing of the site had begun. this was according to checks done by a1 radio.
The ‘Rock Estate’ as it had been referred to when completed would comprise 2, 3, and 4-bedroom detached and semi-detached apartments.
When A1Radio’s Kennedy Zongbil visited the site of the project, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, there was no sign of the contractor, workers or construction equipment. At the site, only 2 out of the 120 projected housing units were partially completed.
The unoccupied, uncompleted apartments have been taken over by insects and all manner of critters.
While all indicators suggest that the government may have abandoned the project, the Deputy Minister for Works and Housing and MP for Binduri, Abdulai Abanga has said otherwise.
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, the Deputy Minister suggested that the government’s commitment to completing the project is unwavering.
“It [the project] will happen. I had a discussion with the Managing Director for State Housing Company. He has assured me that the intention and the plan for that estate are still on course. What they are trying to do is to put their marketing plans well so that when they finish doing that construction, they will have enough buyers to take those houses.”
“I am sure that it won’t be too long, that will be done,” he said.
He said the government still has plans to ensure that affordable housing projects are carried out in various districts to address the housing deficit. These projects would come to complement the Rock Estates at Pusu-Namoo in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.
The Deputy Minister said, because he is from the Upper East Region, he will push, to ensure that the facility is completed.
Mr. Abanga while admitting that Ghana has a huge housing deficit coupled with huge costs of renting the available housing reiterated government’s commitment to addressing the challenges.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
