Rehablitation works will soon start on Peduase Lodge, a Presidential retreat located in the Eastern Region. The project will cost about 7 billion Cedis. It is to put the lodge in a proper state to serve as a retreat for President Kufuor, state officials, visiting international personalities as well as a tourist site.
The lodge, which was built in 1959 by Ghana’s First President, Kwame Nkrumah is in a state of disrepair because it has never been renovated since then. Most of the glass windows are broken, the roofs leak, while the elevators, taps, telephones and airconditioners do not function. The tiles in the bathroom are also broken.
These observations were made when the Minister for Works and Housing, Kwamena Bartels and his deputy, Theresa Tagoe and some officials of the ministry toured the facility.
At the recreational room, the Minster was shown bundles of custom-made, hand woven carpets imported into the country since 1992 for use in the various rooms but which have been left to deteriorate. Some of the functional items at the lodge include the grandfather clock, the pianos, energy generating plants and the lightening systems.
Mr Bartels noted that although the country has a lot of priorities such as health and education to attend to, such facilities cannot also be left to rot. He said technical experts will soon be commissioned to access the degree of damage and how best the rehablitation can be done.
