Amidst allegations of corruption and stalled progress, Ghana's Saglemi Housing Project is set for a transformative shift as the government welcomes private sector involvement.The move comes with a promise of enhanced transparency and efficiency.

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In a bid to break the deadlock surrounding the long-pending Saglemi Housing Project, the government has initiated a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit private sector participation in its redevelopment.This strategic move signals a departure from previous approaches, with the aim of tapping into private sector expertise and resources to expedite the project's completion. It also seeks to address Ghana's pressing housing deficit.

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The Saglemi Housing Project has been shadowed by corruption allegations, leading to the trial of former Works and Housing Minister, Collins Dauda.Despite investments exceeding $200 million, issues like vandalism and theft of project materials have persisted.Speaking on the government's stance, Works and Housing Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah emphasised a reluctance to allocate additional funds, hence the push for private sector collaboration.

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“The dynamics have not necessarily changed. It’s a source of funding that is changing now and our objective is to be able to finish this and make it available. This is also to develop a settlement on its own.

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So there are questions on where is the school, where is the hospital, where is the commercial centre?"Community and social responsibility, technical and managerial ability as well as ethical business practices - all come together as part of the eligibility criteria of who qualifies to put in a bid, local and or international,” Kojo Oppong Nkrumah stated on JoyNews.

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Nkrumah outlined key criteria for prospective bidders, emphasising community responsibility, technical proficiency, and ethical standards.He also highlighted the government's commitment to transparency, citing a detailed policy that mandates open bidding processes and proactive disclosure of information under the Right to Information Act.“It talks about the fact that we have an open and competitive bidding process.

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For example, nobody is going to get an opportunity to put in a bid before the other. All the bids will be received on the same day and then at the end of that day, at that 5pm close, all the bids will be opened transparently. So we have clarity on what everybody has brought to the table.

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“We have also committed in our transparency policy that when this transaction is done, in consonance with the pro-active disclosure clause of the Right to Information Act, we will publish all the bids that were received, the evaluation report of the independent evaluation panel, we will publish the decision memo that the end based on all of these, this is the company that is selected as the successful bidder, we will publish that decision memo

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and we will also publish the final agreement that is entered into with the successful bidder,” Mr Nkrumah said.Under this policy, all bids, evaluation reports, decision memos, and final agreements with successful bidders will be made publicly available, showcasing the government's dedication to accountability and fair competition in revitalising the Saglemi Housing Project.

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