Parliament to haul Terkper over $663m Conti project

The leadership of Parliament has served notice that the Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, would be hauled before it to brief the House on the status of a US$663,299.496 meant for the construction of the Accra Sanitary Sewer and Storm Water Drainage Alleviation project, popularly referred to as Conti Project.

The facility was secured from the Export Import Bank of the United States of America and Standard Chartered Bank in 2012.

Parliament approved the US EXIM loan because the Accra Metropolitan Assembly cannot borrow on its own budget.

The project, expected to be executed in phases involves the desilting and dredging of the Odaw stream starting from the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project (KLERP), construction of an engineer sanitary landfill site where all garbage will be processed and recycled for other purposes, the construction of 50 public toilet facilities, operation and maintenance of a waste water treatment plant [WWTP] at James Town, among others.

But Terkper, in an interview with the Ghanaian Times said there are no funds yet in Ghana’s account to be disbursed, as is being portrayed.

The Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, Dr. Kweku Agyemang Mensah, is also expected to appear alongside the Finance Minister to brief the House on the Conti project.

The deputy Minority Leader, Dominic Nitiwul, who led the call for the two ministers to be hauled before the House said their appearance has become necessary in the wake of l