GJA’s affordable housing project cancelled due to lack of financing

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), for Koans Estate Prof. Kofi Anokye, has disclosed exclusively to Rainbowradioonline.com that the deal between the company and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for the construction of affordable houses for journalists at Pampaso, near Nsawam in the Eastern Region, is off the table.

The CEO explained that the decision to cancel the project was due to the inability of the GJA to finance the project.

He said the company could not get the numbers for the project.

According to him, the GJA was interested in the project but their inability to finance it was a major setback.

He said a lot of people expressed interest but only 5 people have managed to pay some substantial amount for their houses.

In 2018, the GJA and KOANS Estate cut the sod for the construction of an affordable housing project.

The housing project, which was in partnership with KOANS Building Solutions, a real estate company in Ghana, involves the initial building of 100 affordable houses for GJA members.

The project dubbed, ‘GJA Media Village Project,’ was to resolve the accommodation challenges facing journalists.

The first 100 houses were expected to be built within one year.

After the sod-cutting ceremony, a two-bedroom house was to go for GH¢60,000 while a three-bedroom house would go for GH¢80,000.

But reacting to the current state of the project, Prof. Anokye indicated that the project is no longer in force.

He disclosed lawyers of the GJA later told the company that the GJA would not be able to finance the project hence the company should concentrate on building for only five people.

He also revealed the GJA deposited GHC200,000 for the project to start but they have not been able to continue with the deal.

Currently, he said two persons have paid fully for their houses and will soon be handed their keys because the houses have been completed.

He said so far as he was concerned, only five people will get the houses from the total number of 100 that was expected.

“The GJA was interested. A lot of people expressed interest in the houses but we are only building for 5 people. We have completed two houses for two people. They have finished paying. We are yet to deliver to them. The rest have paid half the amount.

He added: “The contract was signed, but later, the lawyers for the GJA came to us saying because of circumstances beyond their control, we should only build for five people.”

Prof. Kofi Anokye stressed that”the GJA couldn’t fulfill its part of the contract by way of financing and so, we limited ourselves to building for five people”.

He added that the five persons were added to the list of an affordable housing project for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GJA).