Saka Homes commits GH¢18.7m to Achimota School dormitory project

Saka Homes has committed GH¢18.7 million towards the construction of a two-storey students’ dormitory facility for Achimota School.

The support is under the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) infrastructure support initiative.  

The project, which will comprise 16 residential units providing 250 beds, is expected to help reduce accommodation challenges in the school, while promoting access to quality educational infrastructure.

Giving back

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of Saka Homes, Ebenezer Kwadwo Saka Addo-Mensah, presented the cheque for the project to GETFund last Friday.

The GETFund Administrator, Paul Adjei, received the dummy cheque on behalf of Achimota School.

He said the initiative formed part of the company’s commitment to give back to society and also to support the CEO’s alma mater.

In an interview, he further explained that the decision to support the project was also influenced by a recent GETFund initiative that allowed companies and individuals supporting educational infrastructure projects to receive tax relief through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

“We are here basically today to put it out there that this opportunity is there. If you liaise with GETFund, you can get some tax relief for supporting initiatives that GETFund promotes,” he said.

He stated that Achimota School was chosen because it was his alma mater and he had always desired to contribute to its development.

“Five years ago, I built a 48-bed ward and donated it to the school. It has always been my desire to do something else for the school, hence this current bid to do a 250-bed dormitory block,” he added.

He further encouraged other businesses and philanthropists to partner with GETFund to support educational infrastructure development across the country.

“I encourage other businesses and people who have funds and are willing to support GETFund to engage with them because if you do this, they will get you some relief from GRA,” he said.

GETFund response

The Financial Controller of GETFund, Alexis Asuinura, described the donation as significant and said it aligned with efforts by the government to bridge the country’s infrastructure gap in the education sector.

He said Saka Homes was the first company to undertake a complete infrastructure project under the initiative.

“This amount is going to develop one full dormitory for Achimota School, and that is quite significant,” he said.

Contributor benefits

Mr Asuinura explained that the initiative allowed contributors to choose institutions or areas where they wanted their projects to be located.

“Saka is an old student of Achimota, and so he has chosen to site the project at Achimota School. Others may decide to go to Assin or Keta to develop a project,” he said.

He added that aside from supporting national development, companies that undertook such projects also benefited from branding opportunities and tax deductions.

“If you build a classroom block, for instance, you can decide to brand it with the company’s logo.

That gives visibility to the company,” he said.Mr Asuinura further stated that GETFund had reached an arrangement with the GRA to allow donations made towards such projects to be treated as tax-deductible expenses in computing companies’ tax obligations.