Sam Nartey George, the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, has accused the Tsopoli Police Command in the Greater Accra Region of neglecting to prosecute some police officers who were apprehended for allegedly stealing building materials valued at US$7 million from the abandoned Saglemi Housing Project.
During an appearance on JoyNews’ AM Show on Tuesday (August 08), George stated that residents from his constituency caught the police officers in the act of pilfering construction materials from the Saglemi Housing Project site.
Despite handing over the suspects to the police, no legal action was taken. The accused officers allegedly claimed that they were acting under the orders of their superiors to steal the materials.
Sam George revealed that he had previously dismissed several reports of theft from his constituents, as he was skeptical of their authenticity.
However, a late-night call from his associates alerted him to the situation, leading him to the site where the theft was taking place.
He recounted, "At 1 am, my guys called me and said, 'Honourable, we’ve been telling you, you said we are lying, now we’ve caught them.' So, I drove to the site at 1 am and caught police officers with a KIA Bongo truck that had loaded tiles, sanitary wares, toilet bowls and all from the site."
The suspects were taken into custody and transported to the Tsopoli Police Station, then subsequently to the Tema Regional Command.
Despite this, no further action has been observed, and Sam George attributed the inaction to the suspects' claims of following orders from their superiors.
The MP went on to emphasize that this misconduct transpired under the current government's watch. He highlighted that security forces, including police officers, were stationed at the Saglemi Housing Project site, ostensibly to safeguard it. However, a considerable amount of valuable building materials, including tiles, cables, and pipes, were reportedly stolen.
The Saglemi Housing Project, initiated in 2016, experienced a hiatus after the government asserted that the project did not align with the best interests of Ghanaians.
Former government officials are currently facing charges related to alleged financial loss to the state in the execution of the project. In contrast, the present administration has launched a new housing project at Pokuase.
Former President John Dramani Mahama criticized President Akufo-Addo for abandoning the Saglemi Housing project, which was initiated during his tenure. Mahama labeled the decision to abandon the project while allocating significant funds to the controversial National Cathedral as "unacceptable."
He accused the Akufo-Addo government of prioritizing personal interests over the welfare of ordinary citizens.
Sam George echoed this sentiment, asserting that it was inappropriate for the government to spend substantial resources on the National Cathedral project while neglecting to allocate funds to complete the Saglemi Housing Project, which could benefit numerous Ghanaian families.
He concluded by highlighting the government's apparent misplaced priorities, questioning their inability to raise funds to finalize the Saglemi housing project while concurrently allocating resources to what he referred to as "the largest civil excavation in Africa."
The allegations of theft and the failure to prosecute alleged perpetrators have added to the discourse surrounding the Saglemi Housing Project and raised concerns about accountability within the security forces.
GA/SARA
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There have been various concerns over government's failure complete the Saglemi Housing project