‘Release funds for MPs’ offices’
The Ministry of Finance has been urged to release funds for the construction of offices for Members of Parliament (MPs).
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A member of the Works and Housing Committee of Parliament, Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, said the completion of the offices in all 275 constituencies in the country would help to deepen the democratic process in the country as constituents would have access to their various MPs.
Job 600 project
“As we speak now, the Job 600 project is not yet completed so if the constituency offices are completed, it will give us the opportunity to meet our constituents regularly, and stop the practice where they chase us right to our homes and to Parliament House to meet us even in our cars,” he said.
Mr Titus-Glover said this when some members of the committee undertook an inspection tour of some of the offices at Suhum, Obom and Madina last Monday.
The project is being undertaken by Sino Africa Development Company Limited.
Office accommodation
In his first State of the Nation Address to Parliament, the late President John Evans Atta Mills said under his Governance Reform Agenda regarding Parliament and MPs, the government would construct and furnish a “Member of Parliament Duty Post Office” in each constituency.
He said the government would also pay administrators appointed by the MPs to man the offices.
To that effect, Sino Africa Development Company Limited, a privately-owned construction and real estate firm, constructed 60 prototypes of the offices in some constituencies in the country.
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However, due to the non-availability of funds, some of the offices that were constructed had deteriorated, while others had been put on hold.
For instance, when the committee visited the project at Suhum, the whole building was engulfed in weeds, which made it difficult for the members of the committee to access the building.
The situation was not different at Obom where members had to cut through grown weeds to enter the premises. Some electrical installations had also corroded.
Laudable effort
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr David Tetteh Assumeng, lauded Sino Africa for its commitment to support the government to meet its developmental agenda.
He advised the company to make an effort to maintain the existing structures to prevent further deterioration.
“I believe that as at now, funding is the major challenge and the committee would do its best to support you in that regard,” he pledged.
Sino Africa
The Principal Architect of Sino Africa, Nana Yaw Oteng Korankye, called on the committee members to help the company seal its contract with the government in order to complete the project.
“We are ready and our bankers are also ready to support the project but we need a sealed contract from the government in order to complete the rest of the project,” he said.
Nana Korankye said when the project was in full force; it would provide employment opportunities for the youth and also introduce Ghanaians to new building technologies that were fast, durable and cost effective.