Ghanaian companies would benefit from STX housing deal- Bagbin

Accra, July 28, GNA - Mr Alban S.K. Bagbin, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing on Tuesday gave the assurance that Ghanaian companies would benefit from the 1.5 billion dollar STX Korea Housing Project.

He said "a Ghanaian company, GK Airports is currently partnering STX Korea to undertake the project". Mr Bagbin gave the assurance during his turn on the Meet-The-Press series in Accra.

He said the main objective of the project was to use Ghana as the launching pad for an integrated building and construction industry in the West African Sub-region.

The management of STX Korea would in addition build a major cement, steel and power generating plants and factories and thereby create about 40,000 jobs in Ghana, which would help anchor the economy in its movement to the middle income status.

Mr Bagbin explained that the SXT Korea loan proposal was currently before Parliament therefore the numerous falsehoods being peddled by the opposition should not be taken serious.

He expressed amazement at the strenuous efforts by some Members of Parliament, especially from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to needlessly "demonise" an otherwise very important national project, which could act as a major boost to the economic development of the country and help improve the living conditions of Ghanaians. The Sector Minister said the Parliamentary Committee discussing the draft STX loan proposal had to withdraw its report and motion as a result of concerns raised by some members on issues that had already been deliberated upon at the Committee levels, which all Parliamentarians were supposed to be part of the discussions and decisions and agreed by a consensus.

He mentioned some of the concerns raised as the reference of STX Engineering and Construction as the "Lender," the over securitisation of the loan, the waiver of Sovereign Immunity, taxes, some terms of the Draft Suppliers Credit Agreement and the perceived lack of adequate information to all members of the House. Mr Bagbin referred to all the arguments raised as mere mischief and naked jealousy on the part of the opposition members, since all Members of Parliament were permitted by the Rules and Practices of the House to attend Committee meetings and could request for any additional documentation for further clarifications and others even during debates on the floor and therefore could not claim innocence at that time of discussing the proposal.

He explained that the granting of Sovereignty Guarantee together with insurance for financial facilities had always been the case with all loans and Suppliers Credit Agreements in the country as it was simple collateral for the loan facility and the insurance of a guarantee against political and commercial risk.

Mr Bagbin described the waiver of Sovereign Immunity as "a standard practice in all loans, Suppliers Credit that has passed through governments and Parliaments in the country," saying when a country became a player in the commercial market, it was bound by rules of the market and therefore it was unfair for a State to contract a loan and during the time of repayment plead sovereign immunity. "The waiver of taxes, duties and fees are also standard provisions in all our agreements, more relevant in this particular situation because the houses to be build under this agreement are for government and that these taxes and levies would be additional cost and would simply go to increase the purchase price of the housing units," he said. Mr Bagbin said inspite of available evidence on the proposal, it was unfortunate that some Members of Parliament were still raising doubts and opposing the laudable effort by the Government to improve upon the socio-economic status of the citizenry.

He said the housing deal represented nothing other than a bold and grand vision by the President Mills Administration to confront the huge housing deficit of one million housing units nationally. 28 July, 10