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Press Release
NPP, September 28, 2010
The STX signing ceremony fiasco
The New Patriotic Party has taken note of the failed move by
the NDC Government and STX Korea to sign the STX Housing
Agreement. This failure reflects the reckless haste with
which government has all along sought to push this shady
agreement through. It is our expectation that they will take
advantage of the failure to sign, stop and listen to the
many voices of reason on this whole STX housing transaction.
But first, someone has to take responsibility for the
embarrassment of last week’s signing ceremony fiasco. For
government to say that it has now referred the agreement to
the Attorney-General for advice on aspects of the housing
transaction raises so many questions. Did the Minister for
Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin lie to
the nation when he said the Attorney-General had already
reviewed the agreements and okayed them? Or did the
Attorney-General just nod at the agreements because it all
served some parochial political interest? Did the Majority
in Parliament do their job when they rubber-stamped the
agreements, some of them within one hour, much against
protests from the Minority? Did government really listen
when many civil society groups and political parties,
including the NPP, pointed out the obvious wrongs in the
entire transaction?
The Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr
Alban Bagbin and the Attorney-General, Ms Betty Mould
Iddrisu have to take responsibility for this fiasco. They
must justify their actions and inactions in respect of this
embarrassing development or resign their positions.
More importantly, the New Patriotic Party expects government
to take advantage of the hold-up to correct the many
deficiencies and inadequacies in the whole project. The
technical experts within the Ghana Real Estate Developers
Association (GREDA) have come together to present a detailed
and well laid-out proposal to Parliament in which the same
200,000 housing units under the same conditions as that of
the STX deal will be built for forty percent (40%) of the
STX price. That represents six billion US dollars (US$6
billion) less than the STX price. This is how much we stand
to save as a country if the NDC government will move away
from its obsession with STX Korea and work with our own
local estate developers.
So, in addition to all the concerns raised by various
sections of the public, this STX deal, as it stands, is
bloated by US$6 billion. Why then is the NDC government so
determined to push ahead with this project? Ladies and
gentlemen, we made a point on the 29th of June 2010 on this
whole business of STX housing; we will repeat that point
here, that this deal is another Mabey & Johnson in the
making.
By all means let us provide accommodation for our security
personnel and Ghanaians in general. But let us not take
advantage of the accommodation needs of our security
personnel to milk the public purse and do malicious
politics. In particular, the NDC government should desist
from using this controversial housing deal to set a rift
between the personnel of our security services and other
sections of the public (including the NPP and our Minority
in Parliament).
It was the NPP that committed itself to the Single Spine
salary Structure that was to benefit our security services
and public servants. Unfortunately, the implementation of
this beautiful pay policy has been delayed and messed up by
the Mills administration.
The record of the NPP in professionalising the armed forces
and other security services through better pay, keeping a
large pool of peace-keeping allowances, more human
application of retirement packages, and the provision of
accommodation facilities, among others, is outstanding.
While in government, we provided residential facilities for
288 officers and men behind the Labadi Villas here in Accra.
We also provided accommodation for 60 warrant officers at
the New Duala Lines. We further provided accommodation for
24 families and 42 soldiers of our security services in the
Beijing Flats.
And we did all that with Ghanaian estate developers. That
explains why we can tell this government, that given the
huge number of housing units involved in this STX
transaction, it is possible to build them for much less than
the price at which STX is providing this service. But if
they are uncomfortable listening to us, they should take a
look at the GREDA proposal. It is there black and white.
We call on the NDC administration to do a comprehensive
review of this whole STX thing. It is not enough to refer
the matter to the Attorney-General. They should refer it to
the financial experts and further refer it to the
engineering experts.
But most importantly, they should reflect soberly upon their
own thoughts and conduct in all this. Is this discredited
project really in the national interest? Have their motives
been sincere and honest in their religious commitment to
such an obviously flawed housing agreement? Have individuals
in government put the national interest before their
personal illegitimate interests as we require of them?
The NPP believes that the failed attempt to sign the
agreement provides yet another opportunity for the NDC
Government to answer these questions. And they should do so
honestly for the sake of this country.
Signed:
Jake Obetsebi Lamptey
NPP National Chairman
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