Police, Army threaten to vote Mills out over failed STX project

The Globe newspaper has picked credible intelligence of growing anger amongst the nation's Military and the Police Service over the failed STX Housing project, which was to have delivered some 30,000 housing units to the security agencies.

Insiders say, there is growing resolve amongst the men and women of the various security agencies, especially the Police and the Army, to vote massively against the second term-seeking Mills-Mahama ticket in this year's presidential elections, unless their living conditions change soon.

"I am a proud officer of the Ghana Armed forces. But trust me where I live is like a rat hole," said a respected army officer who pleaded anonymity in an interview with The Globe newspaper.

"If Mills and his men fail to deliver on the promise of giving us better places of abode before December, I can tell you we will show them the exit through the ballot box," the middle aged officer said.

The officer showed this reporter around his dilapidated home at the 37 Military Hospital Barracks, where hundreds of the nation's armed men and women call home.

Deep cracks raced through almost all the four walls of the tiny army property believed to have been built long before independence.

"The roofing is more than worse. It is a sad thing watching my children, my wife and I stand against the walls of this house when it rains. Plainly put, the roofs leak badly," the officer said.

The officer's story was repeated by more than a dozen other personnel interviewed by The Globe newspaper within the same barracks, which has virtually been reduced to what one resident called “a shanty. ”

It has been more than a year since Ghana's Parliament approved the contract between the STX partners and the Government of Ghana, despite protests from the Minority group in the legislature.

But, nearly a year after President John Mills cut the sod for work to begin on the 30,000 housing units promised the nation's security services under the STX Housing Project, not a single cement block has been laid in the ground.

A protracted boardroom crisis between the Ghanaian and Korean STX Partners has crippled the commencement of actual construction works, although the company had earlier claimed it cleared some of the sites government handed over to it for work to begin.

“We have basically been fooled by both the STX deal and the Mills administration,” said the officer, who has served Ghana for nearly three decades now.

“Politicians come to us. ..make all manners of promises...we clap for them and in the end nothing gets done. I am sure the security agencies will show evidence of their anger at the Mills administration at the polls this year.”

The officer spoke to the Globe newspaper on Saturday. Two days later, President John Mills made an emphatic comment that suggests he may have been aware of the growing anger within the security services over the long delay in the take off of the 1.5 billion dollar project.

“The security agencies and the people for whom these facilities are meant cannot wait,” confessed the President in response to a question from Kobby Fiagbe, during his interaction with Editors at the Osu, Castle on Monday.

He then went to give an indication that the deal may be terminated. “I have therefore decided that we look for alternatives and we are looking for alternatives. Very soon we will come out to announce them.”

“I will like to state that we have had problems with STX. They have spent so much time on board room wrangling; problems between the shareholders. We cannot wait until they resolve these matters.”

While the President was promising the securities an alternative to the STX housing deal, there was growing anger at the at Burma Camp, where officer’s living conditions are not different from those at 37 Military Hospital, Michael Camp etc although there is evidence that most of the bungalows were recently repainted by the forces.

“We live in squalid conditions here,” one officer said. “Why did they promise us so much when they know they could not deliver? ”

The officer added: “You would not believe it when I tell you that I have to share toilet and bathhouse with other officers, but that it the plain truth”.

“Because many of us are packed into one bungalow, you have some officers are engaging in illegal sexual relationship with other officers’ wives, resulting in weekly fights and in some cases divorce,” the officer said adding, “On top of that, getting water to bath through the taps is a daily struggle. Simply put, the pipelines are almost always running dry."

"I am sure the worsening living conditions of those of us in the military can seriously be a major election issue this December," the young army personnel added.