The Minister for Water Resources Works and Housing, Mr. Enoch Teye Mensah has said that the government is sourcing funds to complete the affordable housing project initiated by the previous administration, which is currently being occupied by squatters.

The Minister noted that an initial amount of GH¢40 million out of the HIPC money and an amount of GH₵30 million from SSNIT had been allocated to the project but was still yet to be completed.

Mr. Mensah made the observation when he answering a question from the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bantama, Ms. Cecilia Dapaah, on the floor of the House yesterday.

The MP had wanted to know what was being done by the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing to complete the affordable houses, which were now occupied by squatters.

According to the Minister, it was rather unfortunate that even one unit of the said house has not been completed, in spite of a total amount of GH¢70 million of public funds allocated to the project.

He gave the breakdown as to the level of completion of those houses, when the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) assumed office in 2009.

Those allocated at Borteyman, he noted, were 62% completed, Kpone is 55% completed, Asokore-Mampong is 61% completed, Koforidua is 25% completed, Tamale is 29% completed and Wa is 7% completed.

However, some members of the House disagreed with him and indicated that in 2009 when the Minister was then the Minority chief whip, a budget presented on the floor of the House by the Ministry of Finance had shown that sixty-three units of the houses had been completed and ready for commission.

But the Minister insisted that none of the housing units was completed. "What I know is what I am telling the House. I have gone round al the project sites and none of the project has been completed," he emphasized.

He explained that further investigation by his outfit, as to why the project was yet to be completed, revealed the complications created by previous administration to the completion of the affordable houses.

He stated that his outfit had not been able to secure funds to complete the houses, because it lacked substantial funding bases. According to the Minister, the supply of building materials directly to contractors by the previous administration had also compromised the diligent execution of the work. "This is not just one contactor but 388, and all with separate agreements. This contract could have been completed by one contractor," he argued.

The Minister emphasized that for the houses to be completed, his outfit had to undertake a number of important tasks, which includes; why the program came to a standstill during the previous administration, the exact status of each single unit of housing, who were the contractors, how much more it will cost to complete them, among others.